Character
by KitaxHaku
Summary: After learning of her powers, Angie and her dad were on the move. If she had to continually ditch towns with her father to stay together, she would have. But now her father is missing, and all that she knows is that it has to do with her mother's past, her powers and a group called Cadmus. KaldurxOC Updated every three days!
1. Chapter 1

Alarms were sounding and his heart was thumping loudly in his ears. The bundle in his arms let out a cry. He looked down, pulling the cloth down so that he could see his daughter's face. He stopped running and hid behind a column, and stared at her. She was so sweet, so innocent. Her eyes were barely open, and yet she knew who she was with. She even took hold of her father's finger and sputtered baby talk up to him. He hushed her gently before he looked around to see if the coast was clear.

Another one of his bombs went off and he jerked forward; it was either he escaped the arms of Cadmus lackeys or he escaped the fury of the bombs he had set up. He ran for him and his daughter's lives.

"Professor Males?" He turned with a grunt, seeing his assistant James Caldoff standing in confusion. "What are you—"

Males gritted his teeth before he continued to run forward, around corners of unused areas, and eventually out the back door. Slowing down, he turned to look at the ablaze building.

"Goodbye, Eloisa…" He rubbed his tearing eyes, running again as the fire truck sped towards the fire. Everything was gone. Everything.

A cry erupted from his daughter. He looked down, stopping around the corner of a shaded building. He stroked his daughter's cheek with the back of his finger and she once again took hold of his finger, smiling up at him with a laugh. He smiled back wearily.

Not everything was lost. "My precious Agathangelos."

* * *

"Dad, don't call me that!" I growled, placing my hands on my hips. My father looked at me from behind the desk, obviously irritated.

"It is the name your mother gave you," He said, looking back down to his book, "So that is what you will be called."

"But—"

"No amount of complaining will change that." He snapped his book closed with a sigh before walking to the back of the shop, "You've been complaining for twelve years straight; I won't stop now."

I spat sarcastically. "It's not like I complained when I was _five_. Besides, it's thirteen years today, if we're going to count like that."

He replied from the back room, probably working on someone's laptop. We ran a repair shop, and he tended to hide in the repair room when arguments happened. "I don't understand how people drop their whole laptop in the ocean…what, were you swimming with it?"

"Dad!" I growled.

"You shouldn't be ashamed of your name." He replied simply, as if he hadn't gotten off track.

"Why not?" I asked, irritated, "It's a completely ridiculous name. It couldn't be Agatha, at the very least. Oh no, it HAD to be Agathangelos."

"Don't you have school today?" He asked, trying to throw me off. I crossed my arms.

"It's Saturday, dad."

"Of course it is." He said with a sigh. "Of course."

"It's not even a normal Greek name!" I said in frustration, throwing my arms over the counter, "No one names their daughter Agathangelos! No one!"

"Well your mother did, so you're stuck with it. Put your big girl pants on and accept it." He said, matter-of-factly.

I shook my head, stomping up the stairs now. "You know, you could treat your daughter better on special days like this!"

"Your birthday doesn't win you passes, _Angie_."

I replied by slamming my door. After listening to see if he would press the issue, I lay down on my bed and sat for a long while before I sat up to look out my window. The seaside was noisy today. It was bright and over 90 degrees, which was unusual day in Maine. Not that I minded, of course. I needed it to be like this for my perfect thirteenth birthday party!

I made it my goal every year to outdo my last year's party. This year was going to be amazing. I had studied the sky months in advanced, contacting the locals who had the knack for timely predictions on the weather. Tonight was a full moon, and it was going to be warm and clear. Nothing could mess this up! Even James Bugatti, the hottest guy around town, was going to be there. Just for me.

It was no surprise, of course. I _was_ the cutest girl in our middle school.

I flipped my shoulder length raven hair over my shoulder as I looked in the mirror, shining myself a gorgeous smile. I had that smooth Greek skin, although I was a bit darker than the stereotypical Greek girl due to constantly exploring the beach and the sea. My eyes sparkled, a solid brown that still managed to shine in the sunlight.

Tonight was going to be perfect. I couldn't have been more wrong.

* * *

"This party is kickin!"

I grinned, looking over my shoulder to see more than half of my school having the time of their lives…at _my _party. I took the microphone from the DJ. "Is everyone having a good time?"

They replied with shouts and screams. I made my way back to James, who grinned down at me as we began to dance again. "This really is a great party, Angie!" He said loudly over the music.

"Thanks!" I said, just as loudly, "It doesn't take much to have fun! Just come music, food and a cutie like me!"

He laughed, pulling me closer. "You don't have to tell me twice!"

The night went on, and eventually I moved the party to the water. I wasn't going to have a party at the beach if we weren't going to swim!

"Let's play a game!" I called to everyone near me, which consisted of a majority of boys. "Whoever can reach the moon's reflection first wins a kiss from the birthday girl!"

The men wooed and crowed as I chuckled. I lined the participants up, and then got in line myself. They looked over questioningly. "What? I can race for my own kiss too you know!"

They moaned. I was the captain of the swimming team. "Ready? Go!"

We splashed into the water, many of the participants slowing down quickly. The water's reflection was a lot farther away than they thought. I, on the other hand, did this swim quite often with the team, and was making first place with no one near me. I turned to see how far the participants were, and James waved at me, being the closest.

"No one can win against you, birthday girl!"

I chuckled, waving back, and swam until I was under the full moon's reflection. I looked over my shoulder, grinning. "Chumps."

The reflection was stunning to be surrounded in. It shone brightly, not a cloud in the sky to mark it with imperfections. I looked down at my own reflection, smiling. What a great party. What a great time. What a great me.

I bent down to kiss my reflection in gest with myself when suddenly I felt a pain in my back. I shot up, grabbing my shoulders. "What the—is it a jellyfish sting?"

No, I had been stung before. It wasn't a jellyfish sting. I heard my shoulder blades crack, and felt it even more. I let out a cry, turning to look for help. All of the boys had swum back to the shore; no one was watching me. I cried out again, the pains growing worse. My hair matted to my face, and slowly began to cover all that I could see. I couldn't move, and I slowly began to sink. I continued to call out until my mouth finally reached under the water.

I fell down, holding my breath as the pain increased on my back. There was something wrong. I could feel my bones popping out, reconfiguring. I sank until the water wasn't even warm anymore. The pressure on my ears hurt, and my head began to spin. I felt something on my foot, and I jerked away at the cost of losing the oxygen I had left as I let out a yelp. The water flowed into my mouth and I involuntarily began to cough, only bringing more water into my body. I closed my eyes and covered my mouth. Was I going to die?

Something touched me again, and I did nothing to run away since I had no energy left. I felt strong hands pull me sideways until suddenly I was pulled from the water. I coughed, half throwing up, water before I took in deep breaths. I looked up, tears stinging my eyes more than the salt water, to see my father holding me, his glasses rarely off of his eyes. He moved my hair from my face, revealing panic on his face for the first time in my life.

"Agathangelos…" He said, taking off his shirt quickly and wrapping it around my shoulders. I winced, holding my left shoulder.

"D-daddy…my shoulders hurt!" By this time, everyone had noticed that something was wrong, and came running up. My father picked me up and turned, the crowd stopping.

"Is Angie okay?"

He turned me inwardly so that I couldn't see them, and they couldn't see me.

"She's fine…she just had a terrible cramp while she was swimming is all." He said calmly, "She will have to return home for the night. You all can continue the party, and see Angie tomorrow."

I closed my eyes, trying not to cry. This was my party, for me. I didn't want to leave. I hadn't even gotten to cut the cake. But even I knew that something was wrong with me. My shoulders were burning, and my hair was falling out so much that it reached my lower back. I don't know what I looked like, but apparently I just looked tired to the crowd of middle schoolers.

My father silently carried me to the house, which was above our sea side store. I quietly wiped my tears every so often, knowing that it had been stupid of me to swim so far out alone. I had let my confidence get the best of me.

"Are you alright?" My father asked as he lowered me down on the couch. I shook my head, refusing to make eye contact.

"My shoulders…"

"They're going to hurt for a while, I'm afraid." He said, walking to the kitchen. "Now Agathangelos—"

He paused in silence for a moment, "I mean, Angie…"

I looked up towards the kitchen, suddenly concerned. My father had refused to call me Angie for my whole life. Now he was suddenly correcting himself?

"Your mother died giving birth to you," He said, returning with a strong tea, "It wasn't because she was ill, however."

I looked at him in confusion. "W…what?"

He took my free hand held it. "Your mother wasn't exactly human. She was a…well; I guess you could call her a siren."

I stared at him before choking on tears. He blinked, confused. "Why are you making up these stupid stories at a time like this? I'm hurt, daddy! I want to go to the hospital!"

His grip on my hand tightened. "It's alright, Angie. You're just fine. You're just growing up is all."

"I'm not growing up! This isn't normal!"

"I know!" He held his gaze as he slowly took his shirt from over my shoulders. "That's what I'm trying to tell you."

He moved over to sit beside me, giving me a clear view to my reflection in the window. It was then that I realized that my hair hadn't been falling out—it had been growing, and it was still growing as it curled at my feet.

I screeched, standing up and dropping the glass of tea. "What is happening to me?" I fell to my knees suddenly when the pain in my back grew to a new level. I screamed, grabbing the tea soaked rug in my hands. My father brought my forehead to his chest and I muffled screams into his shirt.

"Your wings are growing, Angie."

Suddenly all of the pressure fell, and I could feel my skin ripping open as bone tore up and out of my back. The pain stayed, but had become bearable. I looked up at my father after a few moments of hard breathing. He stroked my hair, his eyes calm.

"Angie."

I was scared. There was something different about me now. And what was different was fluttering on my back. I turned slowly to the mirror before letting out a shrill; touching my face to make sure it was really my face. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I shook my head. The image that I turned to see would stay with me forever. I would never be Angie, that cute, popular girl, again.

I would be Angie, the freak Medusa.

Bloody wings larger than me were now protruding out of my back, surrounded by moving hair. My eyes, which had once glowed a beautiful brown, now shone an eerie mixture of green and blue.

"Daddy—NO! No no no no no—"

He hugged me around my waist and pulled my head close to his chest. "It's okay, Angie…it's okay." I wept into his arms the rest of the night until I fell asleep.

The next thing I knew, the wings were gone and my hair was cut so short that I could pass for a boy. My father was packing up things in the store, and returning computers left and right.

I came down the stairs, suddenly attacked by some girls from my school. "Oh my gosh, Angie! Are you okay?"

"Yeah! You looked like complete crap—and now you've cut off all of your hair!"

The third girl with them tapped the shoulder of the one in the middle, and they stared into my eyes. "Hey…are you…wearing contacts?"

My head snapped back as my face flushed. I looked at my dad, who stared at me with a concerned frown. I bumped between two of the girls and rushed to the closest mirror behind them. My eyes still held that green/blue mixture.

"Girls, I'm going to need you to leave." My father said. "Now."

They left, mumbling byes to me before loudly gossiping outside of the door. "What was up with her eyes? They were kind of creepy…"

"Yeah…but hey, did you see what she did to her hair? There's no way James will go for a girl like her, now!"

The three of them left soon enough, and I stood just where I had been. My father laid his hand on my shoulder. "Angie…we're going to leave this town."

I nodded in silence and stared at the floor until the tears dropped from my face. I spun around and hugged my father's chest tightly. He hugged me back, as silent as ever. "Let's go somewhere far away…somewhere I'll never have to see any of their faces again!"

And we did. Without so much of a word, we left town on a plane to Metropolis.


	2. Chapter 2

"She's pretty cute, don't you think? For fresh meat, I mean. And look at those eyes!"

I sighed, ignoring the obvious talk on the bus about me and my eyes. I still felt self-conscious about them…even if I did claim they were contacts. The conversation between me and my past so-called friends had scarred me more than I thought. I was just ready to get this first day of high school over with.

I chuckled to myself, realizing what I was thinking. Just four months ago I had been talking about my plot to win over the cutest seniors with my smile on the first day of school. That wasn't me anymore. I didn't care for anybody's attention.

"Hey gorgeous!" I rolled my eyes before staring out of the window as my chin rested on my hand. Someone sat next to me and stuck their hand out in front of me. "I'm Chad Waifer, the man of your dreams. And you are…?"

When I didn't answer, he continued. "Well, you must be completely new…I know all of the middle schoolers around here!"

"Are you implying you are around middle schools often?" I asked. I still had quite the attitude. "Because that sounds a little creepy, and I'm not quite sure I want to shake hands with a middle school creeper."

Those seated around me chuckled and I turned to see who was beside me. He had dirty blonde hair jelled back and cool blue eyes, strangely matching with his green and black jersey.

He caught my eyes and grinned as though he hadn't just been insulted. "You like what you see?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't."

He held his chest and leaned back. "Ouch. That hurt, doll!" He sat up again and leaned in.

"But, really, what's not to like?"

Annoyed at this point, I turned to him while crossing my legs. He grinned down at them. "For one, you keep eyeing me like I'm a piece of meat, and for two, you're just an obnoxious fool who wants to look cool in front of everybody. That sounds like enough to not like."

He ran his hand through his hair with the grin still in contact. What did it take to thoroughly insult this guy? "But there's nothing you don't _see_ that's bad, am I right?"

Ah. That's what this was about. I gave him a smooth smile before turning it into a complete frown. "You've got crusty jell falling off your hair left and right, your pores are horribly large, and your teeth could use a good checkup."

That hit him hard. The whole bus had long gone silent to hear the conversation in motion, and so now everyone was either gossiping about what I had said, or laughing at him.

He took a hint, finally, and moved back to his seat where he was teased by his buddies. I turned back to the window, hiding my victorious grin under my hand. Maybe a little attention wasn't too bad.

I dismounted the bus and took a deep breath. Here I was: a new school, a new look, a new me. I ran my hair through the side of my bob; it wasn't the look I had really wanted, but I didn't want long hair and this was the easiest thing to do.

A shoulder pushed me out of the way and I stumbled, dropping one of my books. I looked up to see Chad grinning back at me. "Watch out, new girl…this place can be rough sometimes."

I stared him down until he turned away, and then looked down for my book. Someone held it up to me and I blinked in surprise. "Are you alright?"

I looked up from the book to see a cheesy smile written over a nerdy girl's face. I could tell she was nervous being around me, but she managed to keep eye contact until I took the book. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks."

She shuffled nervously, her eyes raising and dropping from mine. "You have a lot of guts, insulting Chad's looks like that."

"So you noticed too, then?" I asked as I grinned, making the motion to walk towards the school, "That he has an immense ego for his looks, that is."

She nodded, trotting to catch up. "They're all he lives for. He is really prideful in his knowledge of Metropolis' teen population and his looks."

"Noted." I said, nodding as we entered the school. I looked around; it was a lot bigger than the school I had been planning to go to back in Maine. I began to worry immediately if I'd be able to get around alright.

"Would you like help getting to the office?" The nerdy girl asked from beside me.

"Sure." I asked as I looked at her, realizing I had been calling her nerdy girl in my head, "What is your name, anyway?"

"I'm Jamie Galigain!" She said with an excited smile, "I am a sophomore, so if you need any help, I'm here!"

"I'm Angie Melas." I said with a smile, "And thanks. I could use that help. This place is a lot bigger than the schools in my old town."

Funny enough, Jamie and I had a class together: biology. When third period came around, we sat together and chatted a little until she moaned lightly.

"What's wrong?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. She pointed towards the door and I turned. Bad idea.

"Hey _gorgeous_!" Chad said, making eye contact with me and prancing over.

"Well look who it is," I said with a sigh, "Sir Jerks-a-lot."

He looked at Jamie, who jumped up and shot me an apologetic look before moving to the back of the room. Chad sat down beside me, leaning his cheek on his arm. "I'm so glad you had an open spot beside you…now we'll be partners for the whole school year!"

I shook my head in disbelief. "One: I am not going to sit beside you. And two: aren't you a senior? Shouldn't you be taking…well, any class besides _Biology 101_?"

He shrugged. "I took chemistry already; bio 101 is just my filler class," He grinned, "I'm actually pretty smart, chica. Stick with me and you'll get an A in the class."

The bell rang and the teacher walked in as I stood up. I looked down at Chad with a demeaning glare. "I don't need anyone to do my work for me." I walked over to Jamie, who luckily still had a spot open beside her, and sat down.

Chad stood up to follow, but the biology teacher called out to him. "You're welcome to do whatever you want after class, Mr. Waifer, but in this class you will not literally _chase_ girls down."

The class snickered and I shot the teacher a grateful glance. He smiled and then began to scan the room. "Welcome, everybody, to the magical class of biology 101. I am Mr. Brazer, but I'm that one teacher that will allow you to call me Mr. B, Mr. Biology, or Mr. Brazer. Your choice, my students. I'll respond to any of those names. Just don't go making other names like Mr. Booty."

Jamie leaned in and whispered to me as the room erupted with chuckles and giggles. "He's the best teacher in the whole school; a lot of girls have a crush on him, too."

"Does that include you?" I asked with a grin as her cheeks burned.

"I…admire his sarcasm and looks."

"Uh huh."

"Now!" We turned our attention back to Mr. Biology (what? It had a ring to it), "Let's begin, shall we?"

He started out with some basic questions about biology, to which many students could answer (including Chad, who made it his goal to answer as many as possible to get my attention), but then got to more sophisticated questions.

"You guys are doing great," Mr. Biology said with a grin, "But now I'm going to see how many of you paid attention all the way through your science classes back in middle school!"

A groan could be heard throughout the class. He continued anyway. "What causes the arise of sexual dimorphism?" The room was silent. Not even Chad had the answer.

"Nobody?" Mr. Biology called, a frown on his face as he shook his head and turned to the board. "What a shame."

"Sexual selection, Mr. Biology."

Everyone's heads turned to look at me. I lowered my hand and crossed my arms in front of me. Mr. Biology crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Correct…but why the wait on answering, Mrs.…?"

"Melas." I said, "Angie Melas. And I was waiting to see if you had more to add to the question. While you used a difficult term, it wasn't a difficult question."

Mr. Biology's eyebrows raised and he began to snicker. "Touché, Mrs. Melas, touché!" He returned his attention to the board and began the lesson.

I looked over at Jamie who was grinning at me. "What?" I asked.

"Chad won't be able to close his mouth for a while."

I looked down to see his mouth gaping open as he stared at me until we made eye contact. He turned around, his ears turning red as I watched in amusement. Jamie and I chuckled.

Maybe things weren't as bad as they seemed.

* * *

Lunch time hit and I was starving. I took my lunch out of my locker and looked around for Jamie, who had agreed to meet me in the corner of the school's court yard.

"Angie!" Jamie called, waving to me. She was sitting at a bench with two guys and another girl. I walked over. "Angie, let me introduce you to my friends."

She rested her hand in front of the girl first. She looked up, revealing blue eyes, freckles and bright red lipstick. She had a very messy blonde fishtail braid, and a pencil behind her ear. "This is Rose. She's in the newspaper club with me. She's the main editor."

Rose lifted her hand to say hello. "Nice to meet cha. If you hear about anything, or just need to talk, just come to me! Especially if it has anything to do with that Chad boy—"

"Don't do it." The boy beside her advised, not even looking up from his crossword puzzle, "Rose translation: she wants to make you her new headline."

Before Rose could respond, Jamie introduced the boy. "This is Tommy! He'll be the valedictorian this year."

"You already know that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Tommy grinned, sitting back and fixing his hipster tie (which I must mention, did not match his outfit of a slightly unbuttoned cotton shirt, jeans and backwards Red Hawks cap).

"If we could go over 100, I'd have had 150s in all of my classes last year." He looked up at me, "So yeah, I already know that."

"Oh." I said before looking at the last character I had yet to meet. He had been staring at me as I had been introducing myself to the others, but once we made eye contact he made it his goal to find something else to stare at.

"And this is Victor!" Jamie said cheerily. "He's Tommy's brother, and is a freshman too."

He nodded a hello to me with a small smile. "H-hello."

"Hey." I said before finally sitting down beside Jamie and across from Victor. He started to stare at me again once my eyes were off of him.

"So," Rose said, pulling my attention away from Victor's stare, "I couldn't help but notice your interesting eye color! I've never seen that blue and green mixture before!"

I tilted my head forward and gave a nervous chuckle. The question was bound to pop up. "Y-yeah, thanks…they're contacts."

"What's your natural eye color?" Jamie asked before taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Uh…" I said as I slowly unpacked my lunch, "Just plain brown."

"Can I see the contacts?" Victor suddenly asked, "I-I mean…just one of them? Without the brown behind them?"

"My bro is a bit of an artist." Tommy explained, "Hence the artistic need to figure out color combinations…such as the green blue mixture of your contacts."

"Oh." I said with a nervous grin. "Well, I don't really like to take them out…sorry."

Victor looked down and nodded. "Oh…it's okay."

I sighed slightly to myself. That's why he had been staring so intensely at me. Luckily all of them let it go, and we ate lunch. They mostly talked amongst themselves; Victor and I seemed content with our lunches being the only thing that made our mouths move.

Suddenly there was a loud boom. All of them jerked out of their seats, dragging me in the process. "What are you doing?" Jamie screeched. "Hurry up!"

I picked myself up quickly and ran beside her. "W-what's going on?" I asked.

"It's Superman!" Victor said as he came into view of the sky. We stopped beside him and I looked up, almost blinded by the sun. Once my vision cleared up, I saw the blue suit and red cape.

There was another boom, and we looked to the other side of the sky to see an airplane falling down. Superman flew over and disappeared beneath it. Jamie held her breath and Rose grabbed her camera from around her neck, snapping pictures. "This is SO getting into the paper!"

Soon the rest of the school was around us. I could see Chad a few feet away, rooting Superman as loudly as he could with his fellow teammates. "Go Superman, go!"

I looked back up to see the plane leveling out and slowly descending with Superman underneath. Rose gasped for a moment before taking rapid pictures. "He waved! He waved!"

I was smiling, but slowly began to frown when I watched him flying freely. It was something that I could but couldn't do. I would never be able to fly in the sunny sky.

"Angie?" I snapped my head to see Jamie and the others staring at me. "Are you okay?"

Everyone was returning to their seats. "Y-yeah, sorry…the contacts are just really sensitive to the sun I guess, and I needed to let them adjust is all."

Jamie looked relieved and turned to Rose to see the pictures of Superman waving. Tommy and Victor headed over to the table to finish their lunch, and I followed, even though I wasn't really hungry anymore.

"Dad, I'm back from school!" I opened the door, only to immediately regret the decision. Everything had been knocked over and there were papers everywhere. The lamp my father had treasured had crashed on the floor and completely shattered. I took a few steps in, looking around for anything moving. "D…dad?"

"Agathangelos!" My dad came out from one of the back rooms, his usually tied hair a mess and bloody. His face was white and so were his knuckles, which were wrapped around a large suitcase. "You have to get out of here. They're coming after you!"

"What? Who is—" But I didn't have time to ask questions. He stumbled over to me and pulled me out of the house and into the car. I looked at the back of his head, his long blonde hair now a dark red. "Dad…you need to go to a hospital!"

"There's no time for that." He said, pulling out of our driveway and zooming down the road. "Agathangelos, you need to listen to me, and listen carefully."

I looked at the suitcase between us and then looked up at him, worried. I nodded slowly as he looked at me at the corner of his eye.

"I used to work for a group called Cadmus. It was a DNA modifying group, and they wanted me to modify a lot of different creatures." He paused. "This is how I met your mother."

I swallowed nothing but a dry throat, shaking as he made a wide turn. A car honked at us as he almost ran into them. He continued nonetheless, "Your mother and I fell in love, and we found that she could become pregnant with child…you were soon born. Remember that I told you that your mother hadn't died because of an illness? She had been out of her habitat, the ocean, for too long, and that was why she was dying."

I was choking on tears now, terrified of the story, my father's driving and where all of this was leading to. "Dad…"

"She asked me one last thing before she died," He choked on his own words, "She asked me to save you, and take you far away so that Cadmus could never know you were born, and so that I would finally leave Cadmus…but they've found me. And they want me back."

"Wait, wait!" I cried, holding myself still as he rounded another corner. "Why do they suddenly want you now?"

"They don't know you exist, Agathangelos. At least, they don't know that you are Eloisa's daughter. They're not after you, but if I don't leave, they will find out very easily."

I stared at my dad. He hadn't answered my question, although I now knew why he had the suitcase. I tried to hold in my whimpers, but I was scared. This was worse than when I had first discovered my powers. My dad had always been there, but now he was leaving me in a city that I only been in for four months.

"Dad…no…I can't do anything without you—I don't want to!"

He pulled into a back alley and pulled the suitcase out. I got out quickly and followed him as he placed a bandana over his wound. "You have to."

"But—"

"Agathangelos!" He cried, turning to me and grabbing my shoulder. "You have to."

Tears began to stream down my cheeks. "But Daddy…I'm terrified…I don't want to lose you."

He paused, sighing. He put down the suitcase and placed his other hand on my other shoulder to pull me into a hug. "I love you…but if I take you with me, you'll be in too much danger. I can't risk that."

I didn't bother to wipe away the tears; I knew more would come. He separated from me and picked up the suitcase. He handed it to me. It was a lot lighter than I thought, but was confused as to why he was giving it to me.

"You need to keep this and everything in it with you." He commanded. "You're free to look inside, but whatever you do, do not let anyone else have it."

I nodded silently and he continued. "If you go down this alley you'll come to the police station. Explain that someone broke into the house, and they should take care of you."

He paused for a moment but I made no motion to look at him. He pulled my chin up so that I had no choice. He kissed my forehead and pulled me into another hug. "I love you so much…" He said with his voice cracking.

"Daddy—"

He turned and jumped back into the car, speeding away without another glance. I stood there, my eyes managing to continue the river on my face. I fell to my knees and sat there for a moment, leaning on the suitcase for support. What was happening to my life?

* * *

"Alright missy." The cop handed me a paper and I quietly took it. "We can't file a missing person report until the person has been gone for 36 hours, so if he doesn't return we'll look into it. Until then, you'll be alright on your own?"

I wanted to slap him for the way he was treating my father's disappearance, as well as my age, but I nodded quietly regardless. He and the other police officers left the scene and I sat down on the couch. I held my head in my hands, trying to calm down. The first thing I needed to do was find a safe place to put this suitcase. I didn't even want to look in it; I feared what I would find. I got up and looked around the house. I looked in my father's office, which had been trashed the most, and entered while looking at the ceiling. Hadn't there been an entry way to the attic from this room?

I stood on the chair and knocked on the ceiling. Finally, at the corner of the room, the knock caused the ceiling to drop a string. I honestly couldn't even tell you where it came from. I pulled but it didn't budge. I brought my other hand up and grunted. "Open…up…stupid…door!"

_Voice recognized. Agathangelos Melas. Welcome._

A square of the ceiling snapped down, causing me to fall off the chair. I moaned as I sat up. I looked up to see a cloud of dust puffing out of the attic. He must have had it painted over; it hadn't been used for a while obviously.

"What was up with that voice?" I muttered, nervous to continue. But my father had obviously built it. No one else knew my full name, after all.

I pulled the suitcase onto the chair and climbed up into the attic. It was dark, but I shuffled around long enough to find the switch. Three sets of lights came on, one after the other, revealing a not-so-normal attic. Computers. Computers were everywhere. "What on earth were you doing here, dad?" I muttered to myself, looking around. I would have done more investigating, but the doorbell rang. I quickly got down, threw the suitcase in the attic, and closed it. The string zipped up and was out of site. It was like I had never touched the ceiling.

Another ring of the doorbell sounded and I cleaned my T-shirt and shorts of the dust. "Coming!" It must have been another police officer.

I opened the door and saw a man, most likely in his early thirties. He wore a lab coat and smiled at me. "Hello, ma'am. I am with CSI, and I need to have a look around."

I eyed him suspiciously. I didn't buy it for a second. "Can I see your ID?"

He quickly flashed his ID, but I noticed his name tag pinned to his lab coat. It had Cadmus on it. My eyes jerked from the ID and back to the man as he took a step forward. "May we?"

I looked behind him to see that there were multiple people with him. Multiple men in black suites…and they weren't police uniforms. "I-I'd feel more comfortable if you just came another day." I stuttered, hiding behind the door.

"But we have to investigate today, while the evidence is fresh." He insisted.

"Well that's just too bad," I said as I attempted to slam the door shut. He grabbed the door and busted it open. Before I could say anything, or even scream, he shoved his hand on my mouth. I inhaled, and immediately felt woozy. He let go to wave a cloth in my face with a grin.

"Silly girl," Was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

* * *

"Wake up silly girl!" I kept my eyes shut, still woozy but aware of who was speaking. He waited a moment before snapping his fingers. Water poured over my head and I shot up, coughing. I moved my hands, only to find they were tied behind my back. I shook my head to the side, moving my bangs out of my eyes as I glared at the man in front of me. He only smiled back. "Oh good, you're awake now!"

"W-" I coughed again, "What are you doing? You do realize this is kidnapping, right? And torture!"

He laughed, sitting down at the edge of the bed I was on. "It's not kidnapping! I'm just taking back what was rightfully Cadmus'!"

My face drained of any and all color. I looked around, realizing that I wasn't in a room, but instead a cell. A cell with electric bars. I turned back and glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh spare the act, little girl." He said with a smile, picking at his nails, "I know who you are. And I know _what_ you are...well, kind of."

I stayed silent, avoiding eye contact. He smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Angie. I'm James Caldoff, by the way."

When I didn't respond, he sighed before continuing. "I have to admit, your father was clever. He gave you fake _everything_ except for your first name. That was mistake number one. When your mother was giving birth, she spoke in her own little language, but your name was the same in both English and that language."

He stood up as a a guard came to hand him food. He turned to me, offering me an apple. "Hungry?"

I stared at him in silence, only moving to flip the hair out of my eyes so that he could see how visibly angry I was. He talked about my mother and father like they were idiots.

He merely shrugged, biting into the apple and chewing obnoxiously. He continued. "Your father would have been home free if I hadn't happened to see him escaping. Nobody knew what happened the day your father blew up the lab. They all just assumed it was the Justice League or something. I was the only one who knew what had happened."

He sat down beside me, eyeing me up and down. "You are what happened!"

I looked at him, my eyes determined to stare him down until he looked away. Luckily, he did. "Your father was running out of the burning lab, carrying you with a look of sheer panic! He didn't even respond to me when he was running. He just looked at me, grunted, and left. That's what got me thinking; what was he holding that was so important?"

He petted my head and I tore away from his hand. "When we were analyzing what had been lost in the fire, we found your mother, burnt to a crisp." I felt my eyes tear up, but I closed them shut tight.

"Everything clicked so wonderfully! Your dad and that…_bird woman_ had got it on! You were their love baby!" He laughed until I kicked him in the shin. He growled and the guards shoved me onto the ground, shocking my back. I let out a cry and dug my face into the ground as James stood up.

"Don't worry," He said with a cruel smile, "I'm not going to give you back to Cadmus anyway."

I looked up at him, barely able to move. These guys were ruthless. "W…what are you going to do to me?"

"They think I went back to Males—I mean, Melas' is the last name you went by, right? So clever of him, switching up the vowels of your real last name…anyway, they think I went back to his house to get some briefcase with some of his old info on it." My eyes widened as I realized that they had been searching for the suitcase I had hidden. I kept quiet. James' smile grew wider. "I really went back for you, my dear…and I'm going to figure out just _what_ you are."


	3. Chapter 3

Thankfully James had left me after his declaration. I sat on the bed in silence, other cages around me making pleads for freedom. I had watched enough movies to know that wouldn't work.

I twitched from the electric shock I had received earlier.

I also knew that they wouldn't let anyone out if they would shock a thirteen year old girl.

I wrapped my arms around my legs and buried my face onto my legs. All of this had happened in no more than twenty hours. Our house had been wrecked, my dad was gone on the run and I had been kidnapped and shocked. I looked out of the cell to see strange creatures walking up and down the corridor. They walked as if they were zombies, and paid no attention to those around them. If they didn't bother me, I wouldn't bother them I decided.

My back twitched and I held my shoulders. _No. Not now._ My wings were demanding freedom; it was about that time of the day where I would take them out for a stretch. But by the sound of it, James didn't know what my powers were yet, and I wasn't going to spoon feed him any answers.

I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. The slight aching of my wings was something I had grown accustomed to. Ever since I discovered my powers, my father and I had worked on controlling them. I wasn't doing the best, especially since it had only been four months since I'd gotten them, but I was able to keep them inside for periods longer than this.

Using my fingertips I brushed my hair, which still sat right above my shoulders. The growth of my hair had become completely controllable, although I sometimes questioned why I had it at all. My father had explained that my mother was apparently a descendant of Medusa, and that the wild hair was a trait even my mother had.

It was never really a problem except for when I was taking a bath. For some reason my hair loved baths, and would grow until my body was completely surrounded. Dad often joked about that, saying that my mother felt the same way.

I focused my thoughts again and sighed. There was no way I could get out of here. I knew that much. All I could do was pray that I'd figure out a way to get out of here if an opportunity allowed it. For now, I'd focus on seeming as normal as possible.

* * *

My eyes snapped open. When had I fallen asleep? I sat up, looking around before feeling a sharp pain on my side. That's right, I had been electrocuted. I lifted my shirt to see that they had really sizzled my side…no, really. I was bleeding. "Hey! I'm bleeding!" I called out, looking through the electric bars. "Hello? Is anybody even there?"

There was a crash, and then a boom, and then no more electric bars. I blinked and stood up. All of the guards that had been further down the corridor were running past and I looked after them.

"There was a breech on sector 43! Four boys are breaking the place down!"

I grinned. Opportunity was there, and I took it. I ran out of the cell and ran with the crowd.

All of the prisoners around me, I discovered quickly, were not humans like I thought. A lot of them were strange creatures I had never seen. After I made a turn opposite from the mass running, my path cleared for a while until one of those big horned creatures appeared in front of me. I screamed as I dodged its large hand. It had to have been the size of an elephant! I ran under it, hoping to outrun the creature.

I looked behind and it was nowhere to be seen. I sighed happily and continued. There were strange red bulges in this place…and they were all moving. One burst, revealing a similar creature to the larger one I had dealt with before. "They're…_making_ these things?" I asked in confusion before running faster. They gave me the chills.

"_Rah!"_

I screamed as one of them latched onto my leg. I kicked it off only to have him replaced by two more. "Let…let go of my legs!" My hair shot out and suddenly thwacked the creatures, sending them back into the growing crowd of them. More attacked and I covered my face with my arms, only to find that my hair was fending them off. I stared at the lashing strands, surprised. They had acted on their own, like dogs protecting their owner. It was a little creepy, but I appreciated the save.

I approached a more normal part of the floor (no creatures popping out from eggs) and looked down the hall to see an elevator. I contemplated whether I should go up or down as I fell to my feet when the doors burst open, hitting me square in the face.

After a moment, I threw the door off of my body and moaned. I touched my nose to feel blood rolling down. "Ow…"

There was a click, and I looked up to see four boys staring at me, prepared to fight. I sat in shock until I realized I knew one of them. I wiped my nose, my cheeks stinging even though this was hardly the time to blush. "…You're Robin!" I said, waving my arms in peace. Him and his friends looked at me in confusion.

"Who the heck are you?" The red head asked. I looked at his suit and recognized the symbol. Kid Flash.

"You're super heroes, right?" I asked, ignoring Kid Flash's rude questioning and looking towards Robin. "You've got to help me. They kidnapped me and I need to get out of here!"

"So do we." Robin said quickly before grabbing my hand and pulling me into a run as the creatures came from behind me, "Come on!"

We ran for a while, and I realized just how big of a place Cadmus was. I grunted again, holding my wound. I wasn't a doctor, but I'm pretty sure I had bled at least a fifth of the required blood to keep me alive. I stopped for a moment, only to hear the cries of the creatures behind me. I looked back to see them sprinting towards me.

"What are you doing?" Robin called, "Run!"

I began to run again as instructed, only to see that they were still closing in on me. I tripped on my hair, ironically enough, and fell to the ground. My hair was caught underneath me, wriggling around and trying to lash out to the creatures. I flipped over to my stomach and my hair attacked, not doing so well to protect its master. A small creature climbed under my hair and scratched my back. I screamed in both pain and terror when the blonde was suddenly at my side and smacking the creature off with water.

"Run now!" He commanded. I darted past him and held my shoulders. The scratch had hit my shoulder blade, making the control on my wings a lot more difficult. I fell to my knees again as I neared Robin and Kid Flash and grunted as I held my shoulders. Unable to contain them anymore, my wings sprouted. The back of my shirt ripped as my wings fanned out and flapped, cleaning themselves of the blood. I pushed myself off of the ground and into the air. Kid Flash switched a look with the returning dark skinned blonde before looking up at me while they ran forward. "Where did those things come from? And what the heck is up with your hair?"

I looked away in embarrassment, ashamed of the bloody white wings on my back. I growled at him as an automatic defense: "Just shut up and keep running, jerk face!"

Before I could take my words back, he growled up at me. "Jerk face?" Kid replied before the boy in all white interrupted.

"Go left! Now right!" We followed him into a dead end with only a vent.

"Great directions Supey!" The speedster growled, "What, are you trying to get us killed?"

"No I…" Supey looked to the blonde, "I don't understand…"

Robin grinned. "Don't apologize! This is perfect!"

They climbed into the vent and I quickly followed. As we climbed through, Kid Flash complained that we would never get out.

"Don't say that!" I called from the back, "That's the last thing I want to hear right now…"

"Are you scared?" He asked, grinning back at me.

I turned red, shaking my head. "N-no! I'm just hur—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Supey insisted that we hush and listen. I couldn't hear anything, and by the looks on the others' faces, neither could they. "The genomes are closing in!"

Robin shushed him and grinned. "It's okay, just stay quiet." We continued at a faster pace, although I lagged a bit behind them. But I wouldn't stop. I had to get out or James would get me…and there was no way I was letting him see all of my powers.

We got out of the vents and Robin plugged in a wire to the wall. A hologram appeared out of his wrist and he did some messing around with it before turning with a grin. "I hacked the motion sensors!"

"Sweet!" Kid said, adjusting his goggles.

"There's plenty of time between them and out!" Robin said reassuringly. I sighed in relief, leaning my back against the wall.

"And I finally got plenty of space to move!" Kid said with a grin before taking off up the stairs. They took off after him and I spread my wings open to fly. I flew straight up to the top floor and settled there for a moment, dizzy. Suddenly a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me to the ground. I grunted, rolling onto my chest and pushing up with my arm.

"You thought you could get away, huh?"

I snapped my head up to see James. I growled, flapping my wings to lift me into the air. He smiled a pretty crazy smile. "Yes…this is it! This is your power! And look at your hair! It's flipping out!"

"I won't let you use me!" I said in a shaken voice. I was flying feet above his head, staring down at him with dangerously strong hair, and yet he still terrified me with his insanity. And he knew.

"Oh please," He said, taking a step closer, "do you really think you have a choice?"

And then his grin disappeared and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Supey stood behind him, his fist raised. I dropped to my feet and looked at him. "T…thank you."

He gave me no response, and instead ran past me. The others caught up and ran past me as well, but the blonde paused beside me. I finally realized he was Aqualad as I noticed his belt buckle.

"Are you alright?" He asked, noticing my grimacing face. I looked up at him before looking down at my blood covered hand. "You are harmed? Why did you not tell us sooner?"

He picked me up and I didn't resist. I brought my wings back inside my body, feeling uneasy with them out while I was flightless. Everything was going dark and I didn't have any more energy. I fell limp in his arms and everything turned completely black.

* * *

"…and you endangered lives."

Something told me I should have kept my eyes closed when I awoke to an irked Justice League staring at me. I looked around, trying to see what had happened. A man in a golden helmet was holding me and Supey, Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash were having a glaring contest with Batman, Aquaman and the Flash. Cadmus had completely crashed; there was nothing left of the building that had been above.

"You will not be doing this again." Batman commanded.

The four younger heroes looked at each other, and the blonde stepped up. "I am sorry, but we will."

"Aqualad, stand down." Aquaman commanded.

"Apologies my King," Aqualad said, his hand on his chest, "But no."

Aquaman's eyebrow arched in surprise.

"We did good work here tonight," Aquaman's sidekick said, "The work you trained us to do. Together, on our own, we forged something powerful."

"If this is about your treatment at the hall, the three of you—"

"The four of us." Kid Flash said, cutting the Flash off, "And it's not."

"Batman, we're ready to use what you taught us." Robin said, stepping up, "Or why teach us at all?"

"Why let them tell us what to do?" Supey said, stepping up. "It's simple: get on board, or get out of the way."

Batman's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to answer.

"Uh, can I say something?" The league turned to me as I requested the gold helmeted man to lower me down. I limped a step closer.

"My injuries aren't from our escape. These guys—" I turned to look at them, and then back at Batman, "I mean…these _men_, didn't do anything to me besides help."

They stared at me and I nervously looked to the side. More than anything, Batman's glare terrified me. "I-I guess what I'm trying to say is that…well…" I looked to the four of them and smiled. "I would probably be dead right now if they hadn't found me. Aqualad carried me to safety when I fainted."

A jolt to my side ended my defense of the four of them, and sent me to the ground. I was picked up by one of the leaguers, Martian Man Hunter, and was taken away from the discussion. As he flew me away (to a hospital, he said), I made eye contact with the four young men who had saved my life and gave a smile.

* * *

I awoke in a white room. My side was throbbing, but doing a lot better than it had been when I'd last been awake. I lifted the blanket to see that it had been bandaged and was healing. I looked around, wondering how long I had been out. Once Man-hunter had me high enough in the air, I'd passed out. I didn't know where I was, or who was watching over me.

As if on cue, the door opened to reveal Batman. My grip on the blanket tightened. They _had_ to send in the guy who terrified me the most.

_Oh, _I thought, _that's kind of the point, isn't it?_

"I trust you're doing better," He said as he approached me, "Now that you've had a good twenty hour sleep."

"H-huh? I was out for that long?" I asked nervously. Seriously, they could have sent anybody else in and I would have told them everything. I'd act suspicious with Batman even if he was just asking me what time it was.

"What time is it?"

"IdontknowImsorrydontkillme." I answered quickly. I looked up at him, blinking as he stared in silence. "…did you read my mind?"

"Didn't have to," He grinned lightly, "It was written all over your face. I'm not here to arrest you, so calm down."

I grimaced at my stupidity and looked away from him before he began to speak again. The little grin he had flashed earlier was gone. "I received reports from Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad explaining what they got from you. I need you to explain to me what you were doing there, why they had kidnapped you, and what your powers are."

I looked down nervously. This would be the first time I ever actually told somebody about my powers…it was a little off setting. Not surprisingly, Batman sensed my nervousness. "We need this information to find out who exactly did this to you."

I nodded, and began to speak.

"My mother was also a captive of Cadmus, once." I fiddled with the blanket, "She was, according to my father, a siren of sorts. My father worked at Cadmus when they first met; he was a researcher for them. He said they did a lot of DNA testing, but that's all he ever really said about the company."

Batman nodded and I continued. "He…my parents fell in love. And from them, I was born. My mother didn't make it, since apparently even though she was a winged siren she needed to be in the sea to remain healthy. On my mother's last request, my father burnt the building down and took me away. Cadmus wasn't supposed to know I even existed, but one of my father's apprentices from his days at Cadmus figured it out, and came after me to discover what my powers were. I don't know why, but he's crazy about figuring out just what I can do…I don't even know what I can do."

I took a breath and looked at Batman. He was unmoving, waiting for me to continue. While he was a stone wall, I had begun to feel a little comfortable with him. "The day I was captured, our house had been completely trashed…and so had my father. He gave me a suitcase and dropped me off at the police station before disappearing. He told me to never let anyone get the suitcase. I was kidnapped shortly after I hid it. James Caldoff was the guy's name. He shocked me when I fought back, thus the wound, and kept me in a cell until the electric bars suddenly shut off and I escaped."

"And where is this suitcase?" Batman asked. I twirled my thumbs around and avoided his eyes.

"I…can't really tell you until I look in it myself. My father told me to prevent anyone from getting their hands on it…I don't know if that includes you."

Batman didn't respond for a while, and I nervously glanced up and down between him and the white bed spread.

"Very well," He said simply, "Now tell me about your powers."

I took a deep breath before starting. "My mother, apparently, is related to Medusa. Therefore, I am too." I lifted my hair into the air and watched Batman's eyes widen slightly in surprise. How was he so good at controlling his emotions? I would have at least gasped.

"I can control my hair, although it seems to have a mind of its own sometimes when I'm in danger, and I have wings. I would show you, but I think it'll mess up my bandages. Besides, it kind of hurts." I paused. "That's all I know about my powers. I think that I have better swimming skills due to my ancestry, but that's a little theory compared to the facts."

"How long have you had these powers?" He questioned.

"Four months." I said, "I got them on a full moon on my thirteenth birthday. My father had learned a lot from my mother before she passed away, so we'd been working on training my flight and control of my hair."

"So you've only had these powers for four months." He repeated. "Are you stable?"

I shrugged lightly, sending a quick glare in his direction. The term 'stable' was insulting; it sounded like I was just some specimen. "I can stop my hair from growing easily, but I can't reverse it if it's even possible. My wings are a whole other story. Sometimes keeping them in is difficult, and it can really hurt."

I paused, wondering if I should mention that my hair loved baths, but I felt too embarrassed so I let that fact go. I looked at Batman, signaling that I was done, and he stood up to walk to the window.

"I have a proposition for you."

I blinked, looking at his cloaked back. "A proposition?"

He turned to me. "You need protection, lessons on how to control your power and answers. We need information on Cadmus, a guarantee that you will not go rampant on the city and answers as well."

How was it possible that he managed to insult me and interest me all at the same time?

He took a couple of steps up to the side of my bed. "I have a group of young superheroes who are beginning a team. This team will go on covert operations to assist the Justice League."

He didn't say anything, and I realized what he was really saying. "You mean…you want me…on a team of superheroes?"

"It would be the easiest way to make sure you were safe," He said, "And who knows, maybe you can become a true super hero, too."

I looked down at my hands, taking his offer into consideration. He was right. You couldn't be any safer with a group of super heroes. I would have a place over my head, and James wouldn't be able to figure out where I was. My father would be able to come back to safety.

Dad. What would he think about this? Would he be proud?

I looked up to Batman and nodded. "Okay…I'll do it."


	4. Chapter 4

I braided my hair before sighing. Long hair was too much of a hassle. _I'll cut it when I get to…well…wherever this place is._ I knew that it was somewhere in Happy Harbor and…disguised as a cave…but that was about it.

I sat on the bed, waiting for Batman to come pick me up. Today was the day I'd be moving in with the superheroes…it was a little nerve wrecking. I didn't know anything.

I smoothed out the sheet beside me, sighing lightly. I had calmed down a lot, but a part of me was still hoping that my dad would just walk through the door and take me home; telling me all of this was just a joke. But I knew he wouldn't.

"I wonder if he's okay right now…" I sat in silence, looking out the window.

"I trust you have healed well." I looked up to see Batman standing in the doorway. I shivered as he approached, seemingly gliding. In the two weeks I had gotten to know him (I mean, as much as you _can_ get to know about Batman), I still hadn't gotten used to that.

"Yeah, I'm doing a lot better." I said, standing up. "My side has almost completely healed now."

I looked at him, waiting for his next words. He turned and started to walk forward. "Let's go then."

I followed him in silence, nervous to ask if we could go to my house. I had asked Batman if someone could check on the house a couple of days after I'd been admitted to their strange hospital (I'm still not sure where I was), and he agreed. Nothing was wrong with the house, he had told me the next day, so I'd been itching to grab the suitcase before Cadmus went to destroy what was left of the house.

"You'll have ten minutes to get everything you need." I looked up at Batman in confusion, his sudden speech breaking my thoughts.

"What?"

"We will go to your house for you to pick up any necessities. You will have ten minutes to get what you need, and I will be waiting in the alleyway behind your neighborhood. Understood?" He looked down at me and I nodded quickly in surprise.

"…Are you sure you can't read minds?" I asked. He grinned as he opened the door for me.

"I get that question a lot."

* * *

"Wut're yew thoing 'ere?" A redhead looked at me, his mouth full of chewed hotdog. I stared at him as I stood close to Batman's side, who looked at me but made no motion to move. A dark haired boy with sunglasses peeked his head into the room before giving a grin as he looked at me.

"No way!" He hopped over happily and looked at Batman, "So she's the new girl on the team?"

Batman's eyes narrowed down at him, "I see you hacked into the main frame again, Robin."

He only grinned as I looked at him, the dots connecting. "You're Robin?"

"Yup! The one and only!" He smiled at me, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you properly, Agatha—"

I covered his mouth before realizing what I was doing and nervously backed up to be beside Batman again. "I-it's…_Angie_."

I hadn't liked being called by my real name before; now I just didn't want to hear it because it reminded me of my father. "That's not what the transporter said!" The green eyed clown said, "I believe it was Agatha—"

I made a jump for his mouth, only to stumble to where he once stood. "Agathangelos!" He shouted from behind me.

I turned, trying to calm down. It didn't work. "You're the jerk face, aren't you? Kid Flash!"

He frowned. "Hey! I'm _not_ a jerk face!"

"Yes you are!" I said, my cheeks already a bright red, "You're the one who made fun of my powers!"

"What are you talking about?" He asked, raising his voice right back. "I did not!

"Yes you did!" I said, stomping my foot. "You…you—"

"You can save team bonding for later." Batman interrupted, irritated at the clear immaturity. I lowered my eyes, my cheeks brightening more than I thought possible. I shot Kid Flash a glare before following Batman into a hall. "The room we were just in is where you will report to when a mission comes in for the team."

I nodded, my arms folded in front of me as I noticed Robin and Kid Flash lingering a couple of feet behind us.

Batman stopped, looking over my head (which caused Robin and Kid to disperse and dispatch) before he looked down at me. "This is your room."

He opened the door to show grey walls. "There is a kitchen back down this hallway and to the left. You will be left on your own to make your own food, unless someone else here is willing to make it for you."

I nodded again, looking up at him. He stepped out of the way, giving me silent permission to enter the room. I gladly obliged and looked around. It was plain, but a lot better than what I had had before. There a desk, a queen sized bed, a separate room (a bathroom I assumed), a nightstand, and a closet. I'd need to do some major renovating to fit my liking, but I wasn't complaining.

I turned to batman, fidgeting nervously. "Um…Batman?"

That was the strangest thing to do: call out to Batman.

"I need to go shopping…" I walked up to him, holding my hands in one another, "Am I allowed to go out? And if so, I swear I'll pay back all of the money I'm going to borrow, when my account is processed, but for now…I could really use some new clothes."

"You're allowed to go wherever you want with your free time." He said, stepping out of the doorway and back into the hallway, "Right now, however, since you're still on the watch list for Cadmus, you'll need someone to go with you—"

"I'll go!" Robin volunteered with his grin as wide as before as he jumped from behind the corner. "I mean, I couldn't help but overhear that you need help, Angie. And I can explain the money situation for you, Batman."

I grinned back lightly until I saw Batman's face, which quickly caused me to drop the smile. He seemed irritated with Robin, but by Robin's unwillingness to stop smiling I guessed that it was normal. "Fine. Robin will accompany you, and explain the money issue."

"My last question, I swear," I said after a moment of silence, kicking my leg. "But…do I have to go to school?"

"Yes," He said, his eyes narrowing, "Being a superhero does not exempt you. We have already arranged an excuse for your three week absence at school; you will return Monday."

"Monday?" I questioned, realizing he'd given me a whole week.

Batman turned and began to leave. I followed him until he got to the transporter. "You need this week to adjust and get to know the team. I told the school that you are assisting an investigation with the Justice League, and therefore could not come. They were more than understanding."

I nodded, smiling a crooked grin. I was glad that I didn't have to transfer schools just yet. I looked at Batman's back as he prepared the transporter to leave. He had been cold and direct, but I felt like I had somehow bonded with him over the couple of weeks he had come to visit me (even if it was just to get information). Pretty silly, huh?

He looked at me as the transporter began to spin. "You'll do fine." I blinked as he disappeared. Had he just…comforted me?

"You ready to go, Angie?" I turned to see Robin tying his shoe. He stood up, the same grin in place. You'd think he'd be the Joker's son…

"Uh, yeah, just give me a little time to unpack." I said, walking back towards my room.

Kid Flash leaned on the wall of the hallway, glaring at me as he chewed on beef jerky. I said nothing to him as I passed; only throwing my nose in the air.

"What's your deal?" He asked, turning to follow me, "All I did was say your name!"

"And didn't I say my name was Angie?" I asked, stopping to confront him. "It was rude of you to say it anyway, when I clearly don't want people calling me that!"

Moving somewhere without my father was hard…especially after these four months of little to no communication with anyone other than him. I needed to be away from that name as much as possible, and Wally was _not_ helping by screaming it all over the place.

"Now now children." Robin said, catching up with the two of us as I turned away, "I'm sure we can just forget about this whole thing. Angie, you haven't properly met Wally, right? Let's start over. You can just call him Wally, or KF when the time comes for our _team_ to go on a mission."

"Robin, you can't just _assume_ that that's what I want to be called!" Wally mocked behind my back. I turned to him again, a gasp escaping.

"What—you really are a jerk face!"

"That's all you can come up with? Jerk face?"

My cheeks turned red before I threw my hands up and stomped to my room. "Angie, come on! He didn't mean it!" Robin called. When I heard Wally retort otherwise, I only walked faster.

Sighing, I leaned on the door once it closed behind me. I could still hear Wally and Robin talking, but soon they died away. I left the door and walked over to my suitcase, which was standing by my bed. I glanced over at the suitcase my father had left for me for a moment before going back to mine and beginning to unpack. The first thing I saw when I opened it was the framed picture of my father and I. Tears came to my eyes and I looked up, blinking them away. I calmed down, standing up and placing the picture on my nightstand.

I unpacked the few clothes I managed to salvage from the mess I had used to call my room (Cadmus had even attacked my closet, ruining most of my clothes), putting them where they needed to be. I went to the bathroom to see what it was like. It was nice, to say in the very least. There was a stand up shower, as well as a bathtub. A sink stood across from the toilet on the tile floor. Oh yeah, it was very nice.

Someone knocked on my door and I leaned my head out of the bathroom, eyes narrowed. "Who is it?" I asked bluntly.

"Um!" I blinked at the surprise of a girl's voice, "I'm sorry I hadn't been here to introduce myself earlier! I'm one of your teammates!"

I opened the door quickly and there stood a green girl. I kept my gasp in, but I think my face said it all. She didn't seem to mind. "Hi! I'm M'gann!" She said with a smile.

I smiled back, a little confused, and introduced myself. "H-hi…I'm Angie."'

When we both said nothing, I broke the silence with an awkward question. "Uh…do you mind me asking…why you're green?"

She blinked before smiling again, "Oh! I'm a Martian. I'm the Martian Man Hunter's niece!"

"Oh, the Martian Man Hunter!" I said, pointing at her, "He took me to the hospital the other day!"

I felt a lot more comfortable with her in that spit second. Her uncle had a great way with people; he was very calming for a green man. She must have been proud, because her smile widened.

"My Uncle John is a very kind Martian." She pulled me into a hug. "I hope we can become very good friends!"

"Y-yeah…" I said, pulling myself out of her grip. "I'd like that."

She stepped back, her arms crossed behind her back. "So I heard that you're going shopping with Robin!"

I backed away from the door and smiled lightly, inviting her in. "Yeah, we're going shopping once I finish unpacking…"

Her face was bright. "…Would you like to come?"

"I would love to! I've never been shopping on Earth before! I always saw girls on TV doing it; I can't wait…" I smiled nervously wondering exactly what I had gotten myself into.

An immature speedster, a grinning hack-master and a green Earth-tourist. What an interesting team.

"Do you think I should invite Superboy?" She asked, her hand on her chin. I turned to her.

"By Superboy…do you mean Supey?" I questioned. She looked at me, staring in confusion, until she realized that I hadn't really met him. Before I knew it she was pulling me down the hallway, across the mission station and into a lobby area with a TV set up. I stopped abruptly behind her as she began to walk closer to the couch where the dark haired boy sat. He turned and looked at me, his eyes ice daggers.

"Superboy, this is Angie! She'll be our new teammate." M'gann said with a smile.

I looked at him silently before waving. "Hey…you saved me before…"

Superboy stood up, looked at me for a moment, and then lifted his hand, palm facing us. "Hey."

He lowered his hand and walked away in silence. I stared after him, shaking my head. Major lack in communication skills there. M'gann looked at me with a small grin and laughed a little. "Well…that was Superboy…"

"I see," I said before turning to return to my room, "Well, I'm going to go finish unpacking."

She followed me, brightening the atmosphere with her random thoughts on Earth cultures, and I honestly didn't mind. Having someone that liked talking was nice. It kept my mind off of my father.

She helped me unpack and we finished in ten minutes. I slid my father's suitcase under my bed, agreeing mentally that I'd look into it after shopping. She stopped by my picture, picking it up. "Is this your father, Angie?"

I turned to see her holding the picture and sighed a little as I smiled. So much for avoiding that topic. "Y-yeah…"

"You look so cute, fighting his hug in this picture! Where is he now?" She asked with a bright smile. I looked away, shuffling the few things left in my suitcase.

"O-oh…he…uh…is missing right now…" When she didn't say anything, I looked up with a nervous smile, the ends twitching. "B-but it's okay, because he knows what he's doing…or at least, I hope he knows what he's doing…I mean, he left on his own, so it's okay."

She placed the picture down and bent down to my side. "Angie…are you alright?"

I covered my mouth and nodded, holding out my index finger. "I'm sorry…give me a…a second."

She nodded, rubbing my back as I calmed down. It was hard talking about him. My emotions were delayed; it had all happened so fast that now that people were screaming my real name and asking about my dad, I couldn't control my reactions very well.

"Do I have time to change?" I asked her, standing up and looking at my closet. "Or maybe even shower? I haven't had a long shower in a couple of weeks…and I really would like one…do you think Robin will mind?"

She shook her head, standing up as well. "Last time I saw him, he was playing video games with Wally."

I smiled at her and then looked walked towards the bathroom. "Then I'll be out in fifteen minutes…can you go let Robin know, and I'll meet you in that lobby room?"

She nodded and left the room. I stripped off my clothes and carefully took of the bandage on my side. I stroked the scarring, which looked like a sparky star with its tips stretched around my stomach area. I stepped into the shower and washed it first; it was still blistering. The hospital shower had creeped me out, so I didn't take long showers. I usually just washed myself quickly and hopped back out; I felt like I was being watched all the time.

I sighed as the hot water hit my skin. I pulled my hair over my shoulder and glowered at it. I hated long hair; it was too much of a mess. After I finished my lovely shower, I stepped out and changed into a pair of black shorts and a tube top. I looked at my hair in the fogging mirror as I returned to the bathroom with a pair of scissors.

The ends of my hair twisted and twirled, as if having a life of its own from the water from the shower. "This is why I don't keep you long! You always get so fidgety." I lectured my hair. As I wiped down the mirror with my towel, I saw my grin.

"Time for a haircut."

* * *

"Sorry it took me a while, you guys." M'gann, Wally and Robin looked at me in silence. "What?"

"What happened to your long hair?" M'gann asked, walking up to me and running her hand through my now chin leveled and bobbed hair. I smiled lightly, running my own hand through it.

"I don't really like my hair long, so I cut it," I fiddled with my bangs, "Although I'm not too sure about my bangs. The straight edge doesn't really work for me, so I went with a choppy look…what do you think?"

"I like it!" M'gann said, almost screaming. "It's super cute!"

I thanked her with a grin. "So, are you ready to go?"

Wally stood up, turned off the TV and began to walk out with his hands crossed behind his head.

"Oh no you don't!" Robin said suddenly, grabbing his shirt. "You're coming with us!"

Wally looked down at him with an irritated face. "You're funny." All that was left in Robin's hand was Wally's over shirt minus the Wally. We turned to see him digging in the refrigerator before coming up with a snack. I shook my head at his appetite while M'gann looked at him sadly.

"You don't want to come shopping with us, Wally?"

I blinked in surprise as Wally stepped back, as if taking a hit to his heart. I grinned as I looked away. Someone liked M'gann.

He looked at me and I turned farther away so that he couldn't see me snickering, and then he looked to M'gann before sighing. "Fine…"

M'gann smiled widely. "I'll go get Superboy! I'm sure he'd want to go too!" She flew off to find him, and the three of us awkwardly stood, waiting for her return. I couldn't help but open my mouth. Maybe some jokes would make me feel better and help our already declining relationship.

"So…Wally," I said, leaning on the counter, "Is your favorite color by chance…oh, I don't know…green?"

He began to choke and I laughed. "Oh this is great. You do like her!"

"Shut up!" He said as he properly swallowed, "You don't know that!"

"You're not denying it!" Robin sang, joining me in the delicious fun of teasing Wally.

"Robin, who's side are you on?"

"Is everything okay?" M'gann asked, returning with a grumpy Superboy behind her. She looked between Wally and me, who were nose to nose in the argument. We stood away from each other, each smiling at M'gann.

"Everything's just peachy!" I said before grinning towards Wally, "Well, except for Wally's favorite color, anyway…"

Robin covered his snickering as I grinned over at him, and Wally turned pink. M'gann blinked, looking over at Wally. "Oh? What is your favorite color, Wally?"

Robin and I tried to control our laughter as Wally turned from pink to red. He stumbled over his words before the transporter announced Aqualad's arrival to the cave. "Oh thank g—I mean, look! Aqualad is here!" He zoomed from behind the kitchen counter and back towards the mission area.

"Come on!" Robin said, rubbing his tears away underneath his glasses, "You haven't properly introduced yourself to Aqualad yet."

We went together to the transporters and saw Wally vividly waving his hands as he talked to Aqualad, who just looked at him in confusion. We walked up and Wally turned with his arms crossed as Aqualad perplexedly greeted us.

"Uh…hello?"

Robin waved his hand as if to wave away all of Wally's anger. "Ignore Wally. He's just upset that we know what his favorite color is." We chuckled as Aqualad raised his eyebrow, and Wally growled before pointing to Robin and me.

"See? They're ganging up on me!"

"Hey that rhymed!"

Wally growled at Robin again before Aqualad stepped in. "Wally, calm down. I am sure they meant no harm…in knowing your favorite color?"

It was clear that he was desperately confused. It was like trying to fix a rubix cube with a side missing.

"Oh no," Wally said, glaring at me as he pursed his lips, "They **meant** it."

I rolled my eyes before I glanced over to Aqualad again. He was looking at me, which meant he had caught my eye roll. I grinned nervously, my cheeks pink. Busted.

"Well," He said, "_Did_ you mean it?"

"…Maybe." I rubbed the back of my head before pointing to Wally. "But he started it!"

"What?" Wally said, pushing past Aqualad and growling down to my face. I disliked being short right now. "How did I start it? You're the one that made a fuss about your name!"

"Her name?" M'gann repeated, "Angie?"

"Oh no," Wally said with a grin, "Her _real_ name."

"Wally I swear," I said, my cheeks burning, "If you say it, I will hurt you."

"If you can catch me!" He said with a laugh as he began to run around us. "I'll give you guys a hint: it's not Angie!"

"Wally—" Robin began to call out to him but I cut him off.

"You really are a jerk!" I called out to him, my voice cracking. I had just been trying to have some fun with him and he took it too far.

"Aaaaa—" He said teasingly in reply, "Aaaagggaaaatthhhaaa—"

He suddenly fell over flat on his face. "What the what?" He looked down at his feet to see black hair surrounding his ankle. He followed it up to me.

"Oh crap."

"Oh crap is right, you idiot!" I yelled, my hair wrapping up his leg, "You say it's my fault, but it was you who made fun of me! What kind of superhero are you? You're just a jerky jerk superhero!"

"Jerky jerk?" He still had some fight in him, "Is jerk the top of your vocabulary or something?"

"Dude she totally got you!" Robin said, laughing. His laughter slowly died when he noticed that I wasn't laughing with him this time. "Whoa, Angie calm down. He was just messing around."

"No, he wasn't!" I snapped, staring down Wally, "He was serious, and he was being really mean!"

"Angie…" M'gann said lightly.

Tears welled up in my eyes and everyone went silent. "No one calls me by that name except for my dad! Don't go screaming it around when I told you not to!"

Aqualad squeezed my shoulder and pulled me back. I let my hair unravel from Wally's leg as he turned me to look at him. "We understand that you are upset, but you cannot harm someone because you are distressed."

I blinked back my tears before looking around. Everyone was staring at me and I hated it. I hated being the center of attention now; I felt like a joke. I bit my lip before running back to my room. Why did I get so angry? What was wrong with me?

I sat on my bed and grabbed the scissors, I cutting my hair chunks at a time. "I hate these powers! I wish I had never been born with them! I wouldn't have had to move, and I would still be happy, and Dad would still be here and…and…" The tears began to flow as I threw the scissors across the room. I covered my face, trying to keep the yelps from being too loud.

_Dad…why did you leave me? I feel so alone now that you're gone…_

There was a knock at my door. "Just leave me alone!" I said, lowering my face to my knees.

"Angie, come on, we know you didn't mean it." M'gann said gently from outside the door, "You were upset; no one blames you. I explained it to them, and Wally is really sorry."

I didn't reply, and instead got up and picked up the scissors to finish cutting my hair. I wasn't as upset at Wally as I was at myself. I hated that I had let his little jokes get the best of me. I hated that I had used my powers in such a stupid fight. And I especially hated that I looked like a complete idiot in front of the people I'd be living with for who knows how long.

I went to the mirror to see I had cut my hair a little too short on the right side; it sat awkwardly right above my chin. I cut the other side so that it was level and sighed again. I watched my hair slowly grow until it hit my chin. I shook it, checking to make sure it was even all around, and then stepped out of the bathroom.

"Angie, come on, let's talk it out!" I could hear Robin calling, knocking on the door. "Things got out of hand, but it's okay! Let's all apologize and move on. We still gotta go shopping!"

I sighed, knowing that it had to be done. I hated confrontations after an argument…I don't know what it was, but I just hated it. Maybe it was the awkward dance before you apologized? Maybe. All I knew was that I hated that I had to do it. "I wonder how this is going to go…"

I opened the door to see M'gann and Robin standing at the door. They gave me a smile, each patting my back. M'gann squeezed my shoulder and I looked up to see them smiling. "It's okay, Angie. We all have been in situations like this…we all understand you. Let's go talk to Wally, and then we'll all go shopping!"

"…okay."

We walked over to the lobby area and saw Aqualad, Wally and Superboy standing in a triangle fashion. Wally turned to see me and looked down. I did the same. "H-hey…"

"Hi…"

We both stood there with our heads down until Aqualad nudged Wally forward. "You have something to say to her, do you not?"

He looked at the blonde before looking at me. I peeked up before looking back down. "I…uh, I'm sorry that I said your name, even though you told me not to…and I'm sorry if I ever insulted your powers. If I said anything about your flying, it was probably out of surprise, I'm sure…a-and your hair is really cool! I just never expected that to happen, is all!"

I shook my head, "No, it's okay. I'm sorry that I tripped you, and called you a jerk so much. I recently was separated from my father, who was the only one who ever called me by my real name, so every time I hear it, I think of him and get upset. But I shouldn't have taken it out on you; I was wrong."

Wally stepped forward, reaching over the couch to extend his hand, "So…we're good?"

I smiled lightly, "Yeah, we're good."

M'gann and Robin clapped, hanging on both Wally and me with smiles. "Yay! It's only been one day since we've all been together, and we've already climbed a mountain!" Robin proclaimed.

"But," Aqualad said, stepping up, "I still have not been properly introduced to you, Angie."

I turned to him, smiling. "That's right, we never got around to it did we? I'm Angie, Angie Males. It's nice to meet you, Aqualad."

"Please, call me Kaldur." He said, his hand on his chest. "That is what my friends…call me?"

I was staring intensely at his hand, which I had noticed was webbed. They all said nothing until I realized what I was doing myself, and turned pink. "S-sorry! I…uh…like your webbed…hand?" Oh, that was awkward.

He raised his eyebrow. "Thank…you?"

"I like to swim!" I said, attempting to explain why I was complimenting his aquatic features, "And I was just thinking…you must be able to swim really fast!"

"Well," Wally said with a grin, "He _is _Aqualad."

I felt my face darken from pink to red, "I-I know—"

"Then perhaps, sometime, we can go swimming together." Aqualad said with an awkward chuckle, "And you can see how fast I can swim. Besides, it would be nice to have a swimming partner."

"Well, awesome!" Robin said, clapping his hands together and stalling the awkward conversation to a close (thank god), "So now we all know each other, and we're all good, right?"

I looked at Wally and smiled lightly, receiving one in return. "Right."

"Then let's go shopping for Angie! And groceries!" M'gann said happily, heading towards the transporter. I began to walk as well when Kaldur gently pulled me back. I looked at him in confusion.

"If you wish it, we can always change the transporter to say Angie instead."

I blinked before smiling. "No, it's okay. I was thinking that maybe I should keep it as it is so that I can hear it more often and I won't be as hurt by someone calling me Agathangelos."

"Is that your true name? Agathangelos?" He asked, blinking, "It means good messenger, does it not?"

I nodded and turned, making the motion to join the rest of the group. "Yeah, it does. I'm surprised you knew that. It's not exactly common knowledge."

"In Atlantis, Latin is very much a common knowledge." He smiled as we neared the group. "I find it to be a fitting name for a rising superhero. Maybe you'll send a message out to the world."

I stared at him for a moment before chuckling with a grin. "Yeah, maybe."

"Alright, everybody ready?" Robin called, "Let's go!"

* * *

"So basically you have this card for whatever you need." Robin said, handing me a credit card, "Just don't go crazy with it and you'll be fine."

I nodded, taking the card with a smile.

"Uh oh, look at her face," Wally said, running behind me to pull my cheeks, "She's going to max out the card!"

"I-I am not!" I said, my face brightening. He had read my mind. It wasn't like I was actually going to, but the thought was there…

The group laughed at me, except for Superboy who stood with his arms crossed beside Kaldur. I stared at him until he looked at me so that I could give him a smile, but he walked away. "Let's go do something while they go shopping."

I frowned as the boys walked away, talking about arcades and other simple pleasures. "Superboy isn't really a people person, is he?" I muttered to M'gann, looking at her. It was a little strange talking to a non-green M'gann…her human form somehow transformed her whole look.

She nodded, sighing. "No, I suppose he isn't. I'm sure he means well, but he's just frustrated, is all."

"About what?" I asked, looking at a pair of pants on a stall outside of a store, "I mean, no offense to him, but wasn't he just technically 'born?' What's there to be angry about?"

"I think that the rage we see is more from his previous programming from Cadmus," She explained, "But he's really touchy about Superman, who is technically his father. I heard from Robin that they had an…unfortunate first meeting."

"Oh. Well in that case, I totally understand." I said, nodding before changing the conversation. "Hey, wanna try some clothes on?"

"Do you think the boys will mind if we spend our time like this? We never decided on a time to meet up again…and we still have to get groceries…"

"I'm sure they're fine. They're probably going to play at the arcade for a couple of hours. Besides, this is what we came to do: shop!" I said with a grin as I pulled M'gann inside the store. "And hey, rule number one: make the boys come to you!"

She giggled behind me, quickly walking to be beside me. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

"How much stuff did you buy?" Robin's mouth opened as M'gann and I turned, bags hanging off every inch of our arms. I grinned.

"Well, this is mostly food for everyone." I said, M'gann lifting the bags to show that hers consisted of nothing but food, "Besides, I kind of had to buy more clothes since I lost a lot of mine before coming here."

Robin wiped his head, "Oh good…I thought you'd gone crazy."

"Ha ha believe me, we were tempted." I said, exchanging a smile with M'gann who giggled in agreement.

"I'm kind of glad we divided in the end…" Wally said, eyeing the bags as he approached with Kaldur and Superboy, "So that we didn't have to carry all of that stuff!"

My eyes glinted and I lifted my arms. "Oh my…I'm suddenly not feeling too well…gentlemen, could you help me with my bags?"

Wally rolled his eyes while Supey and Robin crossed their arms, but Kaldur actually offered his assistance. He took the bags off and I looked up at him with a blink. "…I was joking, you know…"

He smiled, "I am aware, but I am sure that soon enough you would have asked for real assistance."

I looked at everyone before looking back at him. "Oh…well, thanks!" I wasn't going to argue it, because I had no muscle, and he did. Carrying the bags was no sweat.

Wally immediately went over to M'gann and offered his arms for her bags. "My lady!"

She handed them over to him with thanks, but his arms fell pathetically. I hid my laughter by hiding my head behind Kaldur's back. "O-oh man…I know I shouldn't laugh, but…"

"It would be wise to not do so." Kaldur agreed before whispering to me, "but it is amusing."

We shared a grin before turning to see Wally struggling more.

"What do you have in these bags?" Wally asked, yanking them up only to have them pull him to the ground. He looked like a crouched gorilla. "It weighs like a ton!"

"It's all of the food," M'gann explained, "Wally, it's okay if you can't carry it all—"

"No no!" He said, dragging the bags forward, "I've got it. A guy has to be a gentleman."

Superboy, who shook his head in irritation, walked behind Wally before taking the bags off of one of his arms and slinging them over his shoulder.

"H-hey!" Wally called in protest before leaning over to Supey, "Dude, you're crampin my style in front of the ladies!"

Superboy didn't seem to care. "You were damaging the food…and I'm hungry."

We all chuckled until Wally turned with an extended lower chin. "Don't laugh at me!"

We returned to the cave (walking back this time so that I could familiarize myself with the area), food and clothes in hand. I smiled happily, pausing outside of the retracting cave door that Robin had opened. The harbor was full of lights, the sky shining with stars and a crescent moon. Robin pulled my hand, dragging me inside, and I turned to see everyone waiting. I smiled and walked faster to catch up with Robin's pull and we went inside.

* * *

Robin and Wally went home (since apparently they didn't stay at the cave) and everyone that did stay at the cave went to their room. I was in mine, staring at my father's suitcase. I was a little nervous to open it; just what was so important that my dad had to give me?

I took a deep breath and opened the case. A cool white fog seeped out and I let go of the top immediately. It opened itself up and I covered my mouth to contain my scream as I scooted away. As the fog cleared, a gray metal box stood, slowly rising to reveal a camera. It adjusted itself and looked around the room until it stopped at me.

_Human, recognized. _The suitcase lifted, revealing wheels. _Identify yourself._

I stared at it, stuttering my name. "A-Agathangelos Melas."

_Agathangelos Melas,_ It paused, _Access granted_.

The camera ducked into the metal box and came back up holding a thumb drive. I slowly reached out and took it, and the camera began to speak. _Instructions from your father, play. _My father's voice came from the box:

"_Agathangelos, if you're getting this message, it is because I had to go away for a while. Cadmus believes that I have this creation with me…I left it with you since they do not know that you are my daughter. This is what I worked on while at Cadmus…they wanted me to make something out of your mothers' DNA…"_

The large box suddenly began to open, splitting in half and seeping out more fog. I crawled forward, looking at it closely to see what was inside. My eyes widened.

"_Teach and protect her. She is a mix between canine and your mother's DNA. She is still growing, and will not wake up for a while, but when she does I expect you to take care of her. She is part of our family. Meet Laelaps, or Lae for short."_

It was a blue dog. That's what my father had been working on, what Cadmus had chased after and destroyed our house for. A _blue_ dog. She had short fur, although on her legs and neck, you could see scales. She even had gills around her neck. I leaned in, checking her out all around and looked up at the camera.

"How am I supposed to take care of her?" I asked in confusion, "I mean is she going to be wild and blood thirsty when she wakes up? And what does she eat? Does she need to be in water? Those are gills right?"

_I cannot process all of your questions at once._ The camera replied, _One question at a time._

I sighed. It was going to be a long night. "Dad, what did you get me into?"


	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone! This is Kita, just putting in a quick author note! First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for reading my story! It makes me happy that you all get to see one of my best pieces of literature yet! Also, I meant to tell you guys that I messed up in the last chapter, saying that Aqualad lived in the cave (because apparently he doesn't). I suppose he goes to Atlantis every night or something…I'm not really sure ha ha, but in the first couple of episodes at least he doesn't live there. So I'll be referring to him coming to the cave instead of living there.

Also, I just received news that a friend of six years committed suicide while studying abroad in Japan yesterday (6/20/12). I may be sluggish on updating (this chapter was late due to a paper), but I will most likely continue writing because it helps me cope. If I am late, however, please don't complain about it (although I highly doubt that it will happen). Thank you all.

Enjoy the chapter

* * *

"Thanks for calling him for me, Robin." I stood beside him as we waited for Batman to arrive. He gave me a grin.

"Not a problem! When you work with the guy he can be pretty easy to find." He said, "What do you need to talk to him about, anyway?"

"Oh, you know…just some stuff." I said with a chuckle, leaning on one leg. Robin raised his eyebrow and began to press when the teleporter began to glow. Batman walked forward, as poker faced as ever. "Batman!"

"You called." He approached as I nodded.

"It's about…you know…" We both fell into silence as Robin stood close beside us. He grinned as Batman glared.

"Robin. Out, now."

His grin disappeared and he moped away. I giggled before walking with Batman to my room. "It's the suitcase. I opened it last night." Once the door closed, I pulled the open suitcase from beside my bed to reveal the sleeping dog. Batman raised an eyebrow.

"Is that…a blue dog?"

I nodded, and began to explain it to him. "This is why my father had to run. Cadmus wanted this dog because my father took genes from my mother and implanted them into a dog's DNA, resulting in an aquatic dog. While my dad says that she's just a dog, they want her because of her genetic stability. They want to know how to make a stable hybrid mix. My father left her to me because Cadmus wasn't supposed to know about me, so she'd be safe with me, but…that's kind of derailed, so I wanted to talk to you about her. He gave me detailed instructions on how to raise her when she wakes up, but according to his recording, she won't wake up for a couple of days."

Batman squatted, investigating the little hybrid. "I see. Was this all that your father left you?"

I walked to my desk, rummaging through the drawer to find the thumb drive. I turned after finding it and showed it to Batman. "He left me this, too. He said it has information about Cadmus and all of his research on it."

I looked at it, a little troubled. I knew that my father had said to keep it, but I couldn't do anything with the information; it all went over my head. I held it out to him as he stood, but Batman only stared down at me. "You…don't want it?" I questioned in confusion.

"This is your information, and therefore your mystery to solve." He explained, "Have your team work with you to figure out what information is on this thumb drive, and report it to the Justice League."

"O-oh." I smiled, looking down. I was happy there was another solution.

"You don't have to work alone, Angie. Remember that you are part of a team now." He said, exiting my room. I nodded, following him out.

"I'll remember that."

"Also remember that your training begins today." He said, approaching the main room. I stopped, having forgotten.

"Ah…right." I caught up with him, jogging past Kaldur, M'gann and Supey with a wave. They looked back at me with troubled expressions until I disappeared from their sight. "Who is going to be training me?"

"I am." Batman moved to show Hawkwoman. I stared at her, my jaw dropping. "Nice to meet you, Agathangelos."

Hearing my name from her mouth put a pit in my stomach. "H-hello…" So that's why they had looked at me that way…I was going to be trained by one of the toughest women in the Justice League.

"We'll start today with simple flying practice," She said, getting started right away, "And we'll do some aerial combat too. You'll probably be sent on a mission soon, and you cannot be weak if you plan to go."

"R-right." I said, nodding. I watched Batman leave, a small grin on his face. _He knows what he's doing to me…_

"Well then," She said, catching my attention, "You need to change. Go get some pants on and meet me outside of the back of the cave."

She flew off and I turned, nodding solemnly. M'gann flew in, patting my shoulder in condolence. "You'll do fine! Flying isn't so bad; it's sunny outside anyway!"

"I am sure that her training will be quite fulfilling." Kaldur reassured. I nodded quietly and headed back to my room to change. I grabbed a pair of yoga pants and paused. What was I supposed to wear that would allow my wings to show?

"Aw crap!" I didn't want to keep her waiting, but I was really at a loss. I shuffled around, unable to find anything. I ran into the hall, calling out for M'gann. She quickly came. "Please tell me you can morph one of my shirts!"

She blinked but slowly nodded, "I…I could try?"

I held out a shirt pleadingly, "Make this a halter top please! I can't grow my wings in any of my clothes!"

She nodded in understanding and managed to get the shirt as I needed. I gave her a quick hug before closing the door, changing, and popping back out. "Thank you again, M'gann!" I said, waving as I zoomed past her. I reached the back of the cave to see Hawkwoman waiting with her arms crossed.

"Why are you so out of breath?" She asked, turning to me, "Why didn't you just fly?"

I stood up straight and laughed a little, scratching the back of my head. "W-well…I guess I didn't really think about that…"

"You cannot afford to 'not think about that' in the midst of battle." She said, approaching me. She grabbed my arm and pulled me to the edge of the mountain. I gasped, struggling in her grip.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Teaching you to think." She threw me off the side of the mountain and I screamed. I saw the ground coming in fast and couldn't move. I couldn't do anything.

My hair reacted faster than I did, grabbing onto tree branches and slowing my fall. I took the moment to push out my wings. I let out another scream as they painfully fell out and into place. I had never let them out so quickly. The blood splattered all over my back and shoulders, and as I began to flap, the blood spattered on my face. I finally gained altitude and looked at my extended hair, slowly unraveling from one of the tree branches above. I stroked a strand, thanking it for saving me before flying back to the top of the cliff. I met Hawkwoman waiting. She hadn't moved from where she had been…if I hadn't sprouted my wings in time, I really would have died. "Are you insane? You could have killed me!" I screeched, settling on the ground.

"But you didn't." She countered, holding my shoulder, "You could have died, but you calmed down and thought it through. You've learned the first most important rule as a warrior of justice."

I looked up at her in disbelief. This was going to be hell; absolute hell.

"Now," She said, jumping into flight, "let's begin our aerial flight training."

I sighed, looking up at her in silence before joining her in the air. "Quickly!" She commanded.

As I sped up to meet her in the sky, I remembered how I was disappointed just a couple of weeks ago that I would never be able to fly in the open sky during day time. I smiled, doing a spin as I approached Hawkwoman.

The training was tough, and it was going to get worse, but right then and there, I knew I was where I belonged.

* * *

"What have you learned today?"

I took another swig of water before looking up at Hawkwoman. "Uh…let's see…calm down and think it through…aerial attacks work well with long distance weapons—"

"Such as?"

"Bows and arrows, whips, my hair and anything projectile weapons." She nodded and let me continue, "When in doubt fly up, and always carry a concealed weapon."

"Very good," Hawkwoman said, nodding, "You've done well on your first day in training. What you have learned today is enough for a standard covert mission. Stay high and don't let them bring you down."

I nodded up to her before rubbing my head. I still had a major head ache from my hair trying to rescue my whole body from falling. "Then I will see you tomorrow, bright and early."

I looked up at her, my mouth open wide. I couldn't even complain; I was so tired. I just nodded and she walked away. I lay down on my side, allowing my wings to shrink. I twitched as the bones popped and slowly sank into my spine. It wasn't a fun experience, but I didn't like my wings staying out when they didn't need to be used; I felt vulnerable.

"I see your first day of training went well." I opened my eyes to see Robin close and personal. I groaned, closing my eyes and burring my head between my arms as my cheeks turned red. Did he see my wings retracting?

"Don't look at me when I'm retracting my wings…" I muttered.

"What did you say?" Robin asked.

I sat up, wiping my face on my sleeve before huffing at him. "I said your mentor is a jerk, setting me up with someone as brutal as Hawkwoman. I almost died today."

Wally laughed, waving his hand as he approached. "Oh, I'm sure it wasn't _that_ bad!"

"No, really. I almost died. She threw me off the side of the cliff and forced my wings out."

"Oh." Wally grinned, "It…could have been worse?"

I gave him a look before sighing and standing up. I stumbled and Robin caught me. "Easy there. Here, I'll help you out."

We walked back to the cave and saw that M'gann, Kaldur and Supey were in the hallway, awaiting my return. They quickly approached as Robin and I came into view. "Are you okay, Angie?" M'gann asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a tough first day of training." I said, shuffling from Robin to the nearby couch.

"I heard you scream." Supey said. He sounded a little confused, as if unsure if he should be worried or not. I noted that he didn't completely hate me and smiled.

"Oh, that was just me falling to my almost death. But I flew, so it's okay."

"I never got to ask…how do you grow your wings and put them back in your body?" M'gann asked, her hand at her lips. I nodded, explaining my powers to her, and the rest of the team, clearly.

"So you're half-Siren?" Robin asked, leaning on the top of the couch, "That's wicked!"

I couldn't help but grin in pride. How many times have you been complimented by the boy wonder? "Yeah, thanks!"

"Sirens are the sisters of the Atlantians. If you ever would like to find information on them, I would be more than willing to help you." Kaldur paused, raising his hand to his chin, "Although…I was unaware that sirens could retract their wings."

We all stared at him, and then everyone stared at me. My eyes didn't leave Kaldur's. "Wait…they can't?"

_Recognized: Batman. Recognized: Red Tornado. _

Robin jumped up and switched a look with the Kid Flash. "Alright!"

"What is alright?" I questioned, getting up and following everyone to the mission room. "It's just Bat—"

"You got a mission for us, batty?" Wally questioned until he received a glare from the boss. He returned his attention to the whole group.

"I do." Everyone looked excited; I guess it made sense, since this was a superhero team, but I was simply panicking. Red Tornado turned towards me and walked through the group. I stared at the android.

"You are Agathangelos, correct?" I nodded, softly correcting him on my preferred choice of name. "Angie; a nickname? It is all the same to me. Welcome to the team, Angie. I will be in charge of supervision over you and your teammates."

Batman cleared his throat and we returned our attention to him. Red Tornado walked back to his side. "The island Santa Prisca is a main source for a dangerous and illegal neo-steroid."

As he explained the mission, I stared at the holographic monitor. He explained that the shipments of the drug had been inexplicably been cut off, and that was where we came in. He turned to us, lifting his finger. "This is a _covert recon_ mission: observe and report. If the Justice League needs to step in, it will."

I sighed in the back, glad that there wouldn't be any fighting involved. Robin spoke up. "So who's in charge?"

Batman and Red Tornado looked at each other. "Figure that out amongst yourselves."

Robin grinned before turning and running through the hall. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"

Everyone went to put on their uniforms. I realized that I had nothing to wear. All of my clothes were useless; they were cute but not fighting material. I really hadn't thought things through.

"Angie." I turned to Batman, who held something black. He handed it to me as I stared in confusion. "It's something Hawkwoman left for you. She figured you'd need it for your first mission."

I unfolded the cloth to see it was a turtleneck; a turtleneck with no back. The neckline was still in place, connected to the sleeves, and wrapped around the waist again at the bottom of the shirt. I looked up at Batman with a smile. "Tell her I said thank you if you see her before I do!"

I ran to change and searched through my clothes for a bottom. I needed something that was light weight and easy to move in. I found a pair of yoga shorts and threw them on. They looked really awkward, though, so I put on a flowing cream colored skirt before throwing on my black flat boots. I gave myself a minute to look in the mirror. For a five minute attempt at an outfit, it worked out pretty well.

I snapped out of my gaze and ran over to the mission room again. Everyone was there except for Kid Flash. "I'm not last!" I called out, skipping over.

"Are you ready for your first mission?" Robin asked with a smile. I gave a withered shrug, and he patted my shoulder. "Hey, don't be nervous. I'll be there with you the whole time!"

He gave me one of his bat blades (I liked to call them batarangs) with a grin and I smiled in return when suddenly Kid ran in front of me. "Am I last?"

I grinned at him and he moped about his loss before Robin raised his hand for attention. "Okay, so here's the plan."

* * *

We were in the bioship, the rather amazing vessel of Miss Martian's, and we were on our way to Santa Prisca. I'm not going to lie; I was really, really nervous. What if I messed up, and put the whole team at risk? What if I couldn't move and I put _myself_ at risk?

I looked over to Robin, hoping to catch his eye for another guaranteed safe trip, but he was completely zoned out. I crossed my arms and looked out the window.

"You will do fine." Aqualad said from behind me. I looked up in surprise and turned in my seat to grin at him.

"Apparently I don't need to speak; my face really does say it all, huh?" I said with a nervous chuckle, before sighing into a frown. I looked up at Aqualad. "It's just a recon mission though, right?"

"Correct." He patted my shoulder, "Should need assistance, we will all be there for you, as Robin said."

"Drop zone A approaching in thirty." Miss Martian announced. Aqualad stood, giving me a quick smile before jumping down into the whole Miss Martian made, and then into the sea. I looked out the window before turning to look straight ahead. I sighed quietly, sinking in my chair. A few minutes later, Aqualad's voice rang in our ears. The technology they used was like from a movie; it was so cool. Even though I was freaking out, I was excited to see what else they had (especially in Robin's utility belt).

"Motion detectors and thermal monitors are on a loop; move in."

M'gann turned the bioship into its camouflage system and flew into the jungle. "Drop zone B." She announced. Everyone stood and hooks fell from the ceiling. I looked at mine, contemplating as to whether I should use it or not, but Hawkwoman's training reminded me that I needed to stay high. Kid began to play with his suit, attempting to impress M'gann as he switched from yellow and red to black. She responded by changing her own suit, managing to be much more impressive than Kid Flash (not that he minded).

"Hey Supey, it's not too late to put on the stealth tech!" Wally said, turning to Superboy with a grin. Superboy flatly rejected the thought, and received a compliment from a zoned out Martian. I noted in the back of my head to investigate her feelings for the Kryptonian hunk. The hole opened up again at the bottom of the ship, and everyone dropped. Superboy's crash sent everybody jumping for their lives, and I took the moment to pull out my wings. Once they were open I dropped down the hole and joined the group. Robin was chastising Superboy about his jump when Miss Martian spoke to Aqualad.

"Drop B is go."

"Head for the factory," He responded, "I'll meet you there ASAP."

Robin spoke quickly. "Roger that."

Without another word, the group began to move. I flew after them, nervous. Why did I end up at the back of the line?

We went past a waterfall, the cool mist calming me down. It didn't last long, however, when Superboy suddenly began asking if we heard something. It was like a scary movie. "W-what are you talking about?" I asked, landing on my feet to stand behind Miss Martian.

"What are you talking about dude?" Kid asked as well, "Wait…is this one of those super hearing things?"

"You do have great ears…" M'gann complimented. I rolled my eyes, coming from behind her as I gave a gentle shove.

"Yeah, _great ears._" I repeated before looking forward. "Robin—"

He was gone. I flew forward, looking around in panic. "Robin? Did he get captured—"

"I hate it when he does that." Kid said with a sigh. I turned, my face twisted in concern.

"You mean he does this often?" I squeaked before Kid covered my mouth.

"Relax," He said with a grin, "Robin is Batman's sidekick, after all. They're used to slipping into the dark."

"Superboy, Kid Flash," Aqualad came back onto the communicator, "Turn to infrared to check to see if you are being followed."

I stepped to the side as Kid Flash pulled his goggles down and Superboy glared forward. "Got a squad of arbozos incoming."

"Arbozos?" Miss Martian put her finger to her lips, ignoring my question, and pulled me down low beside her. Superboy looked to the right.

"Two squads." He corrected, "But they'll meet each other before they find us."

Guns suddenly began to fire and I lowered myself to my knees, trying not to scream. "No super hearing required now!" Kid had to clarify.

"Swing wide and stay clear!" Aqualad commanded.

"Yeah yeah, just as soon as I find Rob!" Kid was gone before I could even tap his shoulder. I stayed on the ground as more shots fired, closer this time.

"Angie, what are you doing?" Miss Martian pulled me up on shaking legs, "You can't freeze up like this during a battle. If you do, they can hurt you!"

"I-I'm sorry…I just…"

"You need to focus." She said, placing her hands on my shoulders, "Calm down, and remember your training."

I took a deep breath and nodded. She was right; I needed to focus. "I-I'll look from the sky for Robin and Kid Flash, then."

She nodded and I took off into the sky. Once above the trees, I followed the sounds of the gun shots until I saw a slight clearing. I ducked down into one of the trees to see Kid fighting a large group of men—or rather, trying to escape from a large group of men. They fired lasers at him and one of the lasers flew astray towards me suddenly. I let out a scream and some of them began to shoot up into the trees. I swooped down to dodge the bullets and lasers, and found myself nearly running into Kid Flash.

As I neared him, I almost panicked. But then I remembered Hawkwoman's advice. _Any sort of projectiles._

"Kid! Do the chicken dance now!" I curved myself upwards, first grabbing Kid Flash under his arms and throwing him into the group of villains. KF landed into about four of them, knocking them down before flashing back into the shadows of the jungle. I tapped my communicator as I landed back into the trees (higher up this time). "Kid Flash…you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks for the save!" Kid Flash called into the communicator, "And great maneuvering! We gotta name that move later!"

I looked back down to see him zooming through the crowd of fighters, now properly on his feet. I sat back in the tree for a moment, catching my breath as Superboy and Miss Martian arrived.

I had done it. I had focused, used my training, and saved a teammate. I grinned. _And I could do a lot more. _

I grew my hair out, allowing it to travel in the shadows of the trees. I grabbed some of the guns and hit a couple of them on the head with the buck of their weapons, knocking them out. Meanwhile, Robin dropped down in the middle of it all, scolding us. "What is wrong with you guys? Why didn't you follow my lead; vanish into the jungle?"

"Is that what you were doing?" Kid asked, pausing to send a glare his way, "Way to fill us in! We're not mind readers you know!"

Miss Martian paused, looking at Wally with a poker face. Wally looked at her with a grin. "Er…well, I'm not, anyway."

"You told me I could only read the bad guys minds!" M'gann defended in confusion.

"The point is that you left us Robin!" I called, jumping down and landing on a bad guy's back, knocking him out. I stood up, walking over to the group as Kaldur arrived. "You left, and we had no idea where you went!"

"Perhaps we should hold this…conversation…for another time." Aqualad suggested. Although KF and I still wanted to have our way with him, we delayed further slaying of Robin to tie up the group. As we made a circle, Robin began to put the pieces together. He explained that the cult of the Cobra was involved, but Aqualad questioned the possibility.

"I am certain that Batman would have mentioned it if a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's venom operation."

"Agreed." Robin said. "And since there's clearly no bond between the cobras and those goons, I'm betting Cobra came in and tossed them out! That's why normal supply lines have been cut off."

He sounded proud.

"We get it. Cobra wanted super cultists. Mystery solved." Kid said before turning to Aqualad, "Radio Bats and we can get back for—"

"These cultists aren't _on_ venom," Robin said, "Cobra's hoarding the stuff! We don't leave."

I groaned.

"Not until I figure out why."

"Until _you _know why?" KF asked, his hands on his hips.

"But wouldn't that be," I paused, rotating my wrist in a circular motion, "Oh I don't know—disobeying direct orders from the boss?"

"That doesn't matter. It's up for me—I mean, us—to decide!"

"Look at who is trying to be the big man, making all the decisions!" KF said, waving his hands.

"This team needs a leader!" Robin protested. I raised my hands, walking back a few steps until I was standing beside Aqualad. I was irritated about being abandoned, and about Robin's disappearance in general, but Kid Flash and Robin seemed to have other problems with this leader thing.

"And so that makes you the leader?" Kid asked. "You're just a thirteen year old kid who ducked out on us without a word."

Robin laughed. "And you're a mature fifteen? You blew our cover the first chance you got!"

I looked up at Aqualad. "No offense to them, but neither of them is fit to lead us when they both make a fool of us by arguing in front of the enemies."

He shook his head, watching the argument. "They are both upset; in retrospect, they both hold immense potential to guide the team."

"Note the word potential." I said, grinning up to him, "They're not quite there yet."

"You're not Batman!" Kid Flash suddenly yelled. We looked back to the fight as they walked literally between the two groups of prisoners we had caught.

"We'll I'm the closest we've got!" I shook my head, approaching them both. I didn't know that Robin could be such a jerk.

"It doesn't matter who is closest to Batman! What matters is that you have a calm approach to things, and that you _don't _make your team look like a group complete idiots in front of you're the bad guys!"

The man with a painted face began to laugh, catching our attention. "Such clever ninos…but you only know half the story."

I crossed my arms, weary of him. He sent me a wink in which I grunted in disgust at. "Let me show you the rest of the story. I'll get you into the factory…through my secret entrance."

Miss Martian squatted down. "There is a secret entrance, but he is hiding something…" Her eyes began to glow green for a moment before she cursed under her breath.

"Ah ah ah chika," The criminal said, "Bane is not that easy to break."

"He's mentally reciting football scores…in Español. This could take a while."

"It's not complicated," Bane said, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"There's no way we'd trust you! It's obvious that you're up to something." When no one said anything in agreement with me, and instead just stared at me, I shook my head again. "Wait…you guys, you can't be serious."

"You need me, chika. Admit it." Bane insisted. I crossed my arms, walking over to Aqualad.

"He is our only option." Aqualad explained in a hush voice, not even bothering to wait for my question.

"No, he's not. We finished our mission, right? We should be heading back to report to Batman right now!" I whispered back.

"We may not have an opportunity like this to get inside the factory again." Robin added before I turned to him.

"Oh please," I snarled, "You just want to use this opportunity to play detective, despite the fact that there are _less experienced_ teammates that may not hold up as well as you and your vanishing act!"

Aqualad tugged my shoulder as Robin's eyes widened and I looked away. It was true. Honestly, I'd been hoping that Robin would be there for me. He'd been around me constantly since I'd joined the team; he and M'gann were my crutches. M'gann had been there for me; he hadn't. And it annoyed me. It annoyed me very, very much.

Bane only laughed at our argument.

"Nina, it's just friendly old me. I have nothing to gain from killing you. And if you're with me, you won't die." He said smoothly. I looked back from him and to everyone else. They stood in silence.

"Fine. Do what you want." I said, letting my arms fall as I walked away, "I'll cover from the sky."

I flew through the trees until I was at the top. I could still see them as they looked down from where I was at and began to untie the villains. I shook my head. This was a really, really bad idea.

* * *

Bane lead us to the factory, and he lead us to the secret entrance. I sat on a branch as they conversed below, messing with my hair. It had grown long during the fight earlier, and I found that it made flight a bit more difficult, so I had wrapped it around my arms and legs. It looked a bit awkward, but it did the trick. Everyone began to enter the secret entrance, and Aqualad waited until I came down from the trees. I avoided eye contact, embarrassed about my outburst from earlier. "I feel really uneasy about this; is there any way I can stay out here?"

"It is best to stay with the team," He said, "We may require your assistance, like Kid did earlier."

"You saw that?" I asked, holding my arm. He nodded, patting my head.

"I did. And you did a great job, Angie. Now, we need you with the team. Can you do that for me?"

I looked down, sighing. "Fine, Aqualad, for you." We entered the cave together, and I looked up at him.

"Hey, Aqualad?" He looked down at me, "You should be the leader." Bane pushed in a code, distracting us from our conversation, and Robin cracked the door open to see if it was clear. It was, and so he vanished…again.

"Don't tell me that little fool has already been caught?" Bane asked with a scowl.

"No, he just does that." Aqualad sighed.

"A lot, apparently." I added.

"Stay put, I'll get our Intel and be back before the boy wonder!" KF declared, sprinting off before Aqualad could lay a finger on him.

"Great chain of command." Bane commented.

"Oh shut it." I growled before looking to Aqualad, "What now?"

He looked around and squatted behind some carts. He signaled us to come forward, and we joined him. There were more of the Cobra followers, packing up shipments of what I guessed to be the venom. "They're only packing up the new ones. They're not even touching the old ones we're behind." Supey commented.

"Maybe…" M'gann said, looking at me, "Freshness counts?"

I shrugged before Superboy spoke again. "A helicopter is coming."

"Miss Martian," Aqualad turned to her, "I need you to see who is coming, and see what they are planning."

"On it." She said, suddenly disappearing.

"Good luck Miss Martian!" I whispered before lowering my head again. I looked around, still unable to see Robin and KF. "Where did those two go?"

I was getting really worried, and maybe that was just because I was a complete n00b to the whole superhero thing, but I couldn't bear the thought of my friends being hurt. For some reason, Robin worried me a lot more than the clown KF.

Aqualad acknowledged their absence and looked to me. "If you promise me that you will be careful, you may go to investigate their locations."

I nodded and slowly backed away from the crates on my knees. I looked to my left to see that there were crates stacked to the ceiling. I used them as coverage, and flew into the air, looking around. I landed on the top of the crates, high enough that no one could see that I was on top. I took the opportunity to try the communicator. "Angie to Robin; where are you?"

There was nothing but static. I bit my lower lip, my concern growing. "Robin…where are—" I looked straight ahead and saw Kid Flash sliding into a glass room. I saw Robin sitting in one of the chairs. I sighed in relief; they were okay. I looked around and flew from crate pile to crate pile until I reached the other side. I slipped into one of the hallways on the same floor as the destination and flew, remembering to save my energy. All of the bad guys that were there had been knocked out (no doubt by those two clowns). I entered the room to see them talking about whatever was on the computer in front of them.

"…if they mix that, it'll make Cobra's venom three times as powerful. But how did they get the blockbuster chemicals from Cadmus?"

"Hey you guys," They turned in surprise as I approached and looked between their shoulders, "You said this was from Cadmus, right?"

"Yeah. They're making a super venom." Kid commented on it. "Although these chemicals together risk being super unstable…are they really taking that chance?"

I froze. Instability. They had been coming after Lae, the aquatic dog, and my father's research for stability. Was this why? "We have to stop them." I said, quickly flying out.

"Angie, wait!" Robin called. I paused, looking at him.

"You mean like you two do? Let me show you how it feels to be left in the dust." I flew off, my heart racing. If we could destroy all of the venom, then they wouldn't come after my dad anymore, right?

I opened the door quickly, only to find that our cover had been blown. I looked around in panic, and then noticed the venom being packed into the helicopter still. I made a motion towards it, but then heard Aqualad grunt. I looked down to see him standing behind a shield, only able to take out one man at a time. There were multiple attacking him and gaining ground. I unraveled my hair from my arms and shot out at the attackers. I threw them into crates and I jumped down beside Aqualad.

"Where are Robin and Kid Flash?" He asked, knocking another cultist down with his water sword.

"I think they're coming!" I replied, "They were right behind me earlier!"

As I spoke, Kid smashed into three men who had been sneaking up on us. "Perfect timing!" I said with a grin before sudden bullets came towards us. We hid behind the poles standing around us and I looked at Aqualad in panic. Things hadn't been this bad before; we were six superheroes surrounded by over fifty men with guns and lasers now. And I wasn't even sure I counted as one yet!

"Calm down." He said to me before yelling over to M'gann, who was on top of tall metal containers. "Miss Martian, telepathic connection: _now_!"

I could see her eyes glowing from where we were. Suddenly it was like there was a hand in my head. I grabbed my head for a moment, groaning. And then I could hear M'gann in my head. _"Everybody online?"_

"_Whoa. There's a M'gann in my head." _I responded, looking at Aqualad.

"_Yeah…I know right."_ I heard Superboy moan. I guessed that he hadn't had a good experience with telepathy before.

"_You know it babe."_ Wally.

"_Good."_ Aqualad said, _"We need to regroup."_ Aqualad said.

"_Busy now!"_ Robin replied. Apparently my sarcastic departure from the computer room meant nothing to him.

I growled and began to say something when Aqualad leaned forward, catching my attention. All of my anger turned to silence when I saw the look on his face. He was serious, which was nothing new, but he was _dead_ serious. He had had enough. _"Robin! __**Now!**__"_

My hair suddenly tugged me back and I turned, seeing it lashing at some of the attackers. "Hey!" I said with a growl, "Tone it down!"

The hair returned to my arms and KF looked at me with a surprised face. _"It listens to you like a puppy!"_

"_Not the time, nor place, Kid!"_ I said before Aqualad began to speak.

"_We need to retreat. Kid, Angie, clear a path!"_ Kid raced in front of me, knocking down most of the men in our way. The ones that didn't got to feel the wrath of my hair. We continued to a door way, and I noticed Robin join us during the struggle to escape. I kept my thoughts to myself, although it was really hard with the whole telepathic connection thing going on.

We made it out and Superboy closed the door. We continued to run, and a giant monster slammed the door open again. "What the heck is that thing?" I asked, looking over my shoulder.

"Just keep running!" Aqualad answered before looking at Superboy. "Superboy, the support beams!"

Supey crashed into them, ripping them apart and causing the section to fall in. We stopped and looked in silence as Aqualad broke a glow stick. I fell to the ground, holding my chest. My heart was racing and wouldn't slow down.

No one said anything for a long while. Robin was the first to speak.

"How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?" He asked, facing the rubble. I had had it up to here with him.

"You wanna know what I think?" I asked, standing up and stepping up towards him, "I think it's because you are being selfish!"

"Selfish?" He asked, turning around, "Everything I did was for a good reason!"

"But was that reasoning good for the team?" I spat back. He opened his mouth but stayed quiet, and I had no intention on joining the silence. "I know that I'm new, and that perhaps my opinions and very little knowledge on superhero business doesn't weigh as heavily as maybe Aqualad's or Kid Flash's does to you, but I do know teamwork. And I know you aren't supposed to leave teammates behind, especially if you know that one of them is new to the game!"

"Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everybody's hand?" He shouted, finding a voice.

"No, but you were supposed to hold mine!" I choked, realizing my words, and felt unbelievably dependent on him suddenly. He had been in the wrong, but I had been making a bigger deal out of it than anybody else.

Nobody said a word and I sighed, turning back towards the group. "You said you'd be there for me…but you weren't. That's the point I was trying to get across."

His eyes widened, but I don't know if he did anything else. I picked up a piece of the glow stick that Aqualad had snapped in half. "…I'm gonna go check to see if we're clear this way."

Their light slowly separated from mine, and I stopped. I fell to my knees, shaking. It had been terrifying; this whole mission had, but what was most frightening was the fact that my friend would disappear, and I had no idea if he was alright, or dying. I stood back up, wiping my forehead, and wrapped my wings around my whole body to keep me warm as I stood up; I was shivering from the cold sweat. I closed my eyes for a moment as I walked forward towards the end of the tunnel.

"…I don't know if I'm cut out for this life."

Suddenly I heard a grunt, and I shoved the red stick in my collar as I wrapped my wings tighter around my body. I kept behind the supporting beams as I slowly got closer to the source. It was Bane. He was setting up something with wires, and when I saw a detonator in his hand I realized that he was planning to close us in.

"I almost feel bad for the little ninos," He said with a chuckle as he backed away from the beams he had placed the bombs on, "But then again, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when I shut them all in…for good."

I turned quickly and flew down the cave. Everyone needed to know. As I saw their light, I failed to slow down. I flew into Kaldur, grunting as I sat up. I got off of him and looked at him with panic as I huffed. "K-Kaldur!"

"What is wrong, Angie?" He asked as Superboy helped him up, M'gann helping me.

"I-It's Bane." I said, pointing back down the tunnel, "He put bombs on the entryway of the cave, and he plans to kill us with it! I tried getting back here as soon as I could—"

"Angie, calm down." Aqualad commanded, "It's alright. We'll just need a plan to intercept his."

I nodded, still shaking as we formed a circle and began to plan.

* * *

As we ran down the tunnel, the group discussed the connections between Cobra, Sports Master (who I learned was the guy in the helicopter) and Cadmus. I was honestly more freaked out about whether our plan would work for Bane or not, but I guess most of them saw him as a little threat.

We rounded the corner and found Bane standing in front of us. "Halt, ninos…I'm feeling a bit…explosive."

We looked above to see the bombs planted where I said they were. He held up the detonator with a grin. Aqualad looked up. "Why?"

"Because I want my factory back!" Bane said as if it were obvious, "So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies or die trying."

"I knew you were a creep." I spat. He only grinned, and for once, I got a chill from it.

"I know that the Justice League will come to avenge your deaths, and when the smoke clears, Saint Prisca will be mine once again!" He lifted the detonator up, "Blowing you up inside this tunnel should do the trick—"

He pushed down, but nothing came of it. He looked down to see that it was gone. "What—where did it—"

"You lookin for this trigger thingie?" I grinned as we looked behind him to see KF holding the detonator. Bane pulled back to punch him, but Miss Martian lifted him high into the air. Superboy walked up, grinning.

"Finally…drop him." He said to the Martian, never breaking eye contact with Bane. M'gann gladly obliged, and Supey knocked his lights out. I fist pumped into the air before quickly calming down under Kaldur's gaze.

"It is a joyous occasion to beat a criminal, Angie," He said, "But I believe we still have unfinished business with the Cobras and Sports Master. We must stop the shipment."

* * *

Everyone was fighting. We had returned to the factory and they had thought out a plan. I, on the other hand, was back up only. I know that I should have been glad about it, especially since I wasn't nearly as prepared as they were for this as they were; heck, I had only been trained for recon missions. This fighting stuff was way over my head.

I watched as their plan worked slowly but surely. Kid Flash took out the small guys, Superboy distracted Sports Master, Aqualad fought off the monster (I believe the called him Mammoth) and Robin wrestled with King Cobra himself. All the while, M'gann was planting bombs in the helicopter. I watched as it fell down from the sky and into the factory conveniently.

I heard a grunt from my place in the jungle and saw King Cobra stepping on Robin's chest. When he stepped down harder, I found myself behind him, grabbing his foot with my hair and tripping him. He turned with an enraged face as Robin flipped away to gain distance.

"You dare to taunt a _god_?" He asked, pulling my hair from around his leg and wrapping it around his wrist to pull me down. I yelped before pulling out the blade Robin had given me and cutting the hair he had grabbed. I flew over to my teammates and we stared at him.

"You are no god." Kaldur declared, prepared to fight like the rest of us. King Cobra stood from his crouched position and grinned lightly.

"Perhaps, another time, I will show you my real power..." He said as sank back into the jungle's shadows. Robin ran after him, but he came back out shaking his head.

"He's gone." He stepped up, grinning to me, "But at least we knocked him off his pedestal! Way to go, Angie!"

He held his hand out and I stared at it before sighing with a small smile. "Well, I wouldn't have been able to do it without your batarang…so way to go, you too."

We shared a moment before turning to see the fire's full damage. Robin stepped up to Aqualad. "We picked the right guy to lead…because you get to be the one to explain all of _this_ to Batman!"

"Wait," I said, blinking, "Aqualad is leader? When did this happen?"

Kaldur only looked down as everyone laughed. I tapped his arm gently, smiling. "Hey, don't worry, even I have noticed that Batman is gentler than he seems. Everything will be fine."

He gave me a smile and we headed back to the bioship.

* * *

"A simple recon mission."

I squinted up at Batman as he lowered his gaze to Aqualad's. Who was I kidding; Batman was merciless.

"Observe and report. That was all you had to do. And yet your mission eneded with a completely burned down factory. You will all have a written evaluation on your _many_ mistakes. Until then…"

I lowered my gaze to the ground from Kaldur.

"Good job." All of our heads snapped up as Batman walked away. "No battle plan succeeds the first attack on an enemy…how you adjust to the unseen is how you determine success. And how you choose leaders…is how you determine character."

I looked at Kaldur with a wide smile and broke the line we were in to wrap around to his side. "I told you! I told you! You're a great leader; I'm glad everyone else finally realized it!"

"I still say I could run circles around you," Wally said with a grin, "But I don't mind escaping that Batman glare down."

Kaldur turned his attention back to me with a smile, "Thank you for your confidence in me, Angie."

I nodded and gave a smile. "Thank you for having confidence in me too, Kaldur. I wouldn't have made it without your pep talks!"

"Which brings us to the topic of my ultimate failure as a team player." I turned to Robin, blinking as he approached me. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you on your first mission, Angie. I should have been there for you when I said I would be."

My cheeks tinted pink and I shook my head. "N-no, it's okay. I got way too emotional about it anyway. I-I mean…I was just so shaken up about it. The mission, that is."

Everyone stared at me and I could only laugh as I searched for a reason to escape. "O-oh! I have to go check on something important! I'll see you guys later!"

I sighed, having successfully escaped, and touched my cheek lightly. "When did this happen…? I barely know the guy…"

When did I develop a crush on the boy wonder?

I opened the door to my room and immideately a blue fur ball hit my chest. I screamed, covering my face with my hands as my hair wrapped around the thing. I heard a bark and blinked, looking up to see Lae. "Lae! You're awake!"

I realized that she was soaking, and I squinted my eyes at her. "And I see you were enjoying a soak in the bath water I had left for you, too."

"Angie! What's wrong?" I looked up with no time to hide Lae. Everyone stared down at the blue furball I held with my hair, and she only barked in reply to their silence.

"…You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Wally asked.

I stared back at them, unsure on what to say, before chuckling with a raised eyebrow. "Uh…meet Lae?"


	6. Chapter 6

Hello boys and girls! I've gotten many questioning peeps about Angie's crush on Robin…RELAX! Ha ha ha this IS a KaldurxOC story.

Also, I'm putting some 'extra' info about Robin in my story (you'll know it when you see it). It's debatable if it is true or not, though…

Anyway, here is the next chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

"Thanks for taking care of her for me, Kaldur." I said with a smile, "I would have asked Supey or M'gann, but I figured they wouldn't really know how to take care of Earth pets very well…let alone mutant ones. And Lae's terrified of Red Tornado."

"It is no problem. Perhaps some time in the water will calm her down by the time you are back from academic activities." He replied, taking the aquatic dog from my hands. Lae jumped from his grip and onto his shoulder, wrapping around his neck and laying her head on his shoulder.

"She really likes you, doesn't she?" I said with a giggle before picking up my backpack. "Well, I'll be off then!"

"Have a good day, Angie." Kaldur replied, waving as Lae barked.

Last night the team found out about Lae. They handled it pretty well, especially since they all seemed to be fairly big dog lovers. After explaining what she was, everyone spent the rest of the night playing with her. Kaldur had offered to take care of the dog while I was at school, since they both were aquatic creatures. Secretly I think he just really liked the company.

I grinned at the thought as I stepped up to the transporter and went through, soon finding myself in an old phone booth Metropolis. I jogged up and down a couple of streets until I reached the bus stop. While I waited, I wondered how awkward this was going to be.

Batman had explained that the school left my excuse opens for me to color in. The thing is, I kind of suck at lying, so I asked Wally to make something up for me instead. He, although first insulted that I came to him for a lie, also congratulated me on knowing who to come to (after I complimented him a couple of times). And so, my excuse was that I had gone up north to visit family in Maine, but then come down with a serious flu, and wasn't allowed to go on a plane.

"Look who is back!" I looked up to see Chad's head sticking out the window of the approaching school bus, "Babe!"

After shaking the feeling that him and Wally would actually probably get along fairly well, I sighed as I walked onto the bus. Of course, he came right up to me. "Babe, seriously, where have you been? Life was so boring without you around! Can you see how much one day can make a difference in one person's life?"

I looked around him, searching for Jamie. I found her waving to me subtly from the back and made a motion to join her when Chad blocked my view. "Hey, come on! Is this any way to treat your friend?"

I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow until the bus started to move. My nose crashed into his chest and he took the opportunity. He wrapped me into a hug and twisted me around. "This is much, much better, babe! You in my arms feels so right!"

"Ret go o mey Chid." I mumbled with a growl, still smashed into his chest.

"What did you say, babe?" He asked, grinning down at me. "I couldn't hear you; you're snuggling me too much!"

I found myself grinning on his chest; okay, it was kind of funny. I had a lot of friends like Chad back in Maine; I'd learned that they didn't always mean to sound so jerkish…it was just their way of communicating. However, realizing my position, I spiked my hair that was under his hands and he yelped, letting go. I smoothed out my locks and looked at him calmly. "Thank you for letting go of me, Chad. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get to a seat before I fall into anybody else."

He moved, confused by what had just happened, and I made my way to the back. Jamie immediately bombarded me with questions. I answered them as best as I could, trying to keep my story straight, and after a moment of silence she seemed to have bought it. I mentally thanked Wally for his crafty ways. "So you're really okay?" She asked again, slowly.

I shrugged, "Well, I will be if you help me catch up. It's the fourth quarter of this school year and I'm going to fail at this rate." The whole year school system thing was screwing me over. If we were in the seasonal school system, I'd be out on summer vacation right now.

Jamie smiled and proposed a study group at the library after school. I agreed after a moment of thought. "I'll have to check to make sure that my friend can keep my pet for a little longer, but sure, why not. And, please, tell me that Mr. Valedictorian is going to come too."

"I don't know," She said, shrugging, "It'll depend on his brother's answer, to be honest. Even before Victor came to our school, Tommy often didn't want to hang out with people unless his brother was with him."

"Why is that?" I asked.

Jamie smiled, "Who knows."

Something tells me she knew more than she led on, but I let it go. "Well, it'd be great if they joined us, and Victor too. I've got three weeks' worth of school work and I need every mind I can to help me figure out what it all means. Victor can help me with World History, too."

* * *

"Hey babe! It's nice to know you haven't lost your scientific touch." I looked up from our half way dissected frog to see Chad looming over us. He looked at Jamie, who stood up until I grabbed her arm.

"I don't really care if you continue to talk to me, Chad," I said, "But don't make my friends move when they don't need to."

Jamie slowly sat back down as Chad rolled his eyes. "I only want some one-on-one time with you!"

"Well that's going to have to be another time when I'm not hanging out with my friends…or working on dissecting a frog."

Mr. Biology came back into the room, and decided to punish Chad by sneaking up on him and screaming from behind. "DETENTION!"

Chad jumped, and glowed in embarrassment before he stomped back to his seat. Mr. Biology gave us a wink. "Don't worry ladies, I've got your back." I glanced over to Jamie with a grin as he walked away. Her face was bright red.

"Oh you're too precious." After multiple tugs and pulls and 'shut ups' from her, we continued to dissect the frog. "So I talked to Victor about the study group while we were in World History, and he said he'd come."

"Oh, that's good!" Jamie said with a smile, "He was really worried about you, so I'm sure the invitation made him happy."

I blinked, looking at her. "Worried? Why? We barely know each other."

"Well, he knows that Chad has his eyes on you. He gets really defensive when it comes to that guy." She explained, "Tommy told me that one time he and Chad got into a huge fight, about two years ago."

"A fight?" I questioned, "About what?"

"Not sure. Tommy won't tell me." She said, shrugging, "But apparently it was big enough of a deal for Victor to come out of his shell…_way_ out of his shell."

"Oh, wow." I said. What more was there to say? Victor seemed like a really good guy, and he hardly seemed like the type to get into fist fights with a guy like Chad. "I'll remember to avoid bringing the two together."

"I don't get why you deal with Chad at all." Jamie said, sighing, "He's such a bully."

"Well, I grew up with those sorts of people. I was pretty popular back in the day…so I guess I'm used to his kind of personality."

"Really?" She said, blinking, "I could totally see it; you being popular and all."

"They weren't my favorite days." I said with a chuckle, "I've learned to appreciate the quiet times."

"Well I'm glad that you're here now." Jamie said, taking my hand and shaking it. "You're a pretty cool person just the way you are, Angie."

I smiled, feeling fuzzy inside. "Thanks, Jamie. I'm glad I'm here too."

* * *

"Hey Angie, look at this!" Jamie said. I leaned beside her, looking at her laptop. "Apparently there's a Superboy now!"

I froze, looking at the blurred picture of Superboy in his white outfit from Cadmus. How had someone gotten a picture of him?

"Hey doll!" I looked up from Jamie's computer to see Chad. He lifted his thumb, chucking his hand to the side, "Can I talk to you, one-on-one _now_?"

I sighed, more in relief than anything, and stood up dusting my back side. "Aren't you supposed to be in detention, Chad? What is it?"

Jamie pulled my hand, bending me over so that she could whisper into my ear. "You may want to finish your conversation with him ASAP…before Victor gets here."

I nodded and walked over to him, who pulled me underneath a tree. "Make it quick."

"I," He said, grinning, "Being the awesome person I am, am offering you some help."

"Help?" I replied in confusion.

"You've been gone for three weeks! I'm sure you could use some help with all of that homework." I nodded, accepting the fact that that was true, "So I'm willing to help you find a student in each of your classes to give you _all _the work you have to catch up on. You can walk in tomorrow and they'll give you everything you need to get straight A's."

"What?" I asked, grinning, "Really?"

Normally I would be weary of cheating, but with the whole super hero thing, I'd do anything to catch up quickly. "Thanks Chad, that's really nice of you!"

"Oh, well of course," He said, "But it comes with one, simple condition!"

I looked at him, my grin fading. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "You, me, one date."

I sighed, shaking my head. "You know what, I shouldn't be cheating anyway."

"Oh come on, babe!" He said, walking after me as I began to leave his presence, "Why won't you give me a chance? I could blow your mind!"

"I'm…just not interested in you, Chad." I said, continuing to walk away. He took hold of my wrist to turn me around.

"Let me make you interested in me!"

I stared at him, wondering how I could make him understand. I thought of Robin. "I…I like someone already, sorry."

"What?" He questioned, "You've been at this school for only two days! Who do you like already?"

I stared at him, my eyes narrowed. "Well, for one, you seem to forget that you've developed this liking towards me in two days…and the guy I like—"

"Angie, are you ready to go?"

I looked behind me to see Victor approaching us. I looked behind him to see Jamie freaking out and then running inside the school. Rose had appeared, and was taking pictures. I looked between the two guys, realizing that they were about to have one heck of a confrontation.

"Victor, hey! Yeah, I'm ready to go. Chad was just—"

"Bothering you, I'm sure." He finished for me. Not quite what I was going to say.

"What does it matter to you, brat?" Chad interrupted, glaring down at Victor, "Who she talks to is none of your concern."

"She's my friend," He said back, "So yeah, it is my concern."

"You guys, why are you getting all hyped up," I said, trying to separate them. Chad pulled me out from between the two of them.

"It's okay, babe, I got this." He said, sending a glare down to his foe, "Besides, this kid has been at the top of my list for a while…I've been waiting for a reason to bash his head in."

"Bring it on," Victor said, cracking his knuckles, "unless you're going to cry again, like last time we got into a fight."

"Why you—" Chad made a swing for Victor's head, but he ducked and got a hit in his stomach. Chad backed up, gasping, and I grabbed his shoulders.

"Chad, are you alright?" I asked before looking up at Victor, "Stop it, now! You guys are being stupid!"

"You asked for it, you punk!" Chad charged him, ripping out of my grip. A crowd had long circled us and I looked around before looking back to the two brawling boys. This was exactly what I didn't want—all of this attention.

"That's enough, I said!" I kicked Chad behind the knees, causing him to fall and miss a hit from Victor's fist. I grabbed Victor's wrist and pulled him over Chad's crouched body, sending him to the ground as well. The crowd went silent as the boys turned, staring up at me. I crossed my arms.

"If you two want to fight, go for it, don't get me involved! You idiots literally just started a fight over nothing!" I turned as I noticed Tommy and Jamie pushing through the crowd.

"Victor, what are you doing?" Tommy asked, pulling him up before looking at me. "What happened, Angie?"

"Ask your idiot brother." I said before looking at Jamie, "Hey, we'll have to reschedule that study group. I'm going home for the day."

"Okay," She said nervously, "But…Angie…"

I shook my head with a sigh and walked out of the group. "I'll see you later." The crowd separated like the sea did for Moses, and I grabbed my stuff before heading back to to the transporter. It was a long walk.

* * *

Once I stepped into the broken phone booth, I shook my head again, crossing my arms.

"I can't believe them!" I transported back to the cave, walking out still distraught, "They literally used me to get at each other. All boys think about is their pride, I swear."

I paused in concern. There was something wrong with Victor…it just didn't add up. He had been so mellow when I'd first met him…now I was seeing random fits of anger that seemed to come out of nowhere.

There was a tapping, and I looked up to see Lae sliding around the corner. She made eye contact with me, barking as her tongue flopped out of the side of her mouth. I knelt down, opening my arms to her. "Lae!"

She began to run at full force, excited to see me home. As she ran, I noted that she was soaked. Before I even had a chance to stand, however, she had already fumbled onto me. I chuckled, sitting up and holding her with a grin.

"Lae, where have you gone?" I heard Kaldur call.

I stood up holding her and called back. "She's with me, Kaldur!" He rounded the corner, drying off his hands with a towel, and I raised an eyebrow as I approached him.

"Did you just get back from swimming?" I asked. He nodded, wiping his feet down as well before handing me a towel for Lae.

"We did indeed." He said, raising an eyebrow back, "But I thought that you would not be back for quite a while due to your…study group, you called it?"

I shrugged, ready to forget about the two boys, and focused on drying Lae. "We decided to reschedule."

I looked at Kaldur, who looked back with a smile. "What is it?" He asked.

I shook my head. "It's nothing…I was just thinking about how all guys are jerks…but you're too much of a gentleman for me to make that assumption." He rubbed the back of his neck as he smiled a little and thanked me for the compliment.

"Aw, you're embarrassed! Ha ha, but anyway, how was Lae?" I kissed her forehead and smiled, "Were you a good puppy for Kaldur?"

Lae barked happily as I rubbed her belly with the towel and Kaldur chuckled. "She was very…_very _energetic, but she was well behaved as well. Had she not have finished a nap a few minutes ago, she probably wouldn't be as energetic. I apologize."

I looked at Kaldur with a chuckle and wrapped my free arm around his arm to give him a sideways hug. "Don't apologize! I don't mind her being energetic, so long as she's happy. Thank you for taking care of her; I'll make you a fabulous dinner as payment!"

He smiled. "I accept your reimbursement."

I let go of his arm to put Lae down. She scratched my leg, whining, and I sighed. "You've been awake for only two days, and you're already spoiled!" I handed Kaldur the towel and picked Lae up again as the transporter announced Wally's arrival.

He slid to a stop as he saw Kaldur and me. "Hi Wally!" I said, waving with a smile.

"Hey!" He said before bending down to be eye to eye with Lae, "And hello to you too, my little friend!"

She replied by digging her head between my arms and Wally pouted.

"I believe she is ready for dinner." Kaldur said, "She has had a long day."

"Well I was going to start our dinner now anyway, so I'll whip something up for her too. Wally, do you want to eat with us—"

He stared at Kaldur and me intensely before swinging his index finger back and forward between the two of us. "Is there…something going on between the two of you?"

I blinked, looking up at Kaldur and then back down to Wally. "What? No way! Kaldur's like an older brother to me!"

"I must concur," Kaldur said, shaking his head, "I too feel a sibling connection with Angie. Nothing more."

Wally shrugged, although his eyes carried a strong curiosity. "You two just acted like a grandma and grandpa couple; it looked kind of cute."

I laughed, my cheeks turning slightly pink in embarrassment, "I'll remember that if I ever develop romantic feelings for Kaldur, Wally." Kaldur smiled and Wally shrugged again before going back to answering my question.

"Make me some dinner too!" He said, throwing his hands on his stomach, "I never reject food!"

"Angie, you're back!" M'gann said, walking into the room. "How was school?"

"Meh, it was school." I said, rolling my eyes before smiling to her, "Want to eat dinner with us?"

"Sure!" She said, "Got room for one more?"

Supey walked from behind her, his hands in his pocket casually.

"Hey Superboy. And yeah, I'll just need some help with cooking!"

"I'll help, I'll help!" M'gann volunteered with a smile.

"I was hoping you would!" I handed Lae to Kaldur. "I'll go put away my stuff in my room and change, and then I'll be right out!"

I walked away from the group, smiling. While I enjoyed my time with Jamie and (sometimes) the others, I fit in best here at the cave. It wasn't even because of our powers…it was just that click between friends.

* * *

"My dad and I never really liked the same foods, so we would always make everything separate. So here's what's on the table," I said as M'gann floated the food to the table, "Pasta is the main part of the dish. You have meat options of beef, chicken or shrimp, and sauce options of white or red."

I watched as the bread fell to the table as well. "And you can never have pasta without garlic bread!"

"This looks delicious, Angie." Kaldur complimented. I grinned, thanking him.

"Do we get dessert, too?" Wally asked, already filling his plate up.

"I made some cookies and a cake!" M'gann said, "But I'll bring it out when we have more space on the table."

M'gann and I sat down and we began to eat. Every once in a while I'd glance over to the transporter, waiting for Robin to pop in. It was about dinner time; usually he came in right after school. Kaldur must have been watching me, because he asked if I was alright.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine!" I said with a laugh before looking down to Lae, who was eating at my feet. He made no motion to continue eating and steadily gazed at me, so I sighed and looked up at him with tinted cheeks. "Do you…think that we should save some food for Robin?"

"I believe that Robin will not be returning to the cave tonight; he and Batman are patrolling together tonight." He shifted in his seat and leaned towards me as my shoulders lowered, "Although, I could contact him if you—"

"N-no, that's okay!" I said with a quick laugh, "I was just wondering!"

Kaldur's mouth tugged upwards, and I narrowed my eyes at him. He was teasing me…which meant that he knew. "You—"

He, who had returned to eating, took a bite of his pasta and I stared at his bowl for a moment. "Kaldur…you eat shrimp?"

The table became silent and everyone stared. I turned red and looked down as Wally began to laugh. "Dude, Angie, the guy lives at the bottom of the sea. What else is he going to eat?"

"I-I didn't mean it like that—" I stuttered with my words, "I just…Aquaman talks to fish!"

"So what?" Wally managed as he continued to laugh. I puffed my cheeks out as M'gann and Supey grinned at me.

"It's not such a stupid question! I'm sure a lot of people figured that people don't eat what they can speak to!"

"The ability to speak to aquatic animals is not something that stops us from surviving, Angie." Kaldur corrected, "We still eat seafood."

I lowered my head as I looked at him. "I-I'm sorry, Kaldur…that must have been insulting…"

"Not at all," He said, smiling as he patted my hand, "It is true that this is a common misconception; I have gotten the question many times by many others."

I smiled and turned to glare at Wally. "You shall get no dessert!" I declared, sending him on a rant about how he didn't deserve such cruel treatment.

Ignoring him, we finished the pasta and I brought Kaldur a mini cake specifically for him as thanks. "I wasn't sure which flavor you liked the most, so I just shot in the dark with vanilla." He nodded thanks and began to eat.

"Do you like it?" I asked, my grin wide. He nodded.

"It is wonderful, Angie. Thank you." I raised my fists in victory.

"That was the first cake I ever made by myself; I'm glad it turned out alright!"

"Kaldur, send me some of that cake!" Wally attempted to whisper to Kaldur without me noticing. I only glared at him.

"I told you you wouldn't get any dessert!"

"Oh come on! I wasn't the only one messing around with you!"

* * *

"Good morning Superboy! You're up early." I said as he walked past Kaldur and I. He paused to give a nod. "Where are you headed?"

"Metropolis." He said.

I gave Lae a kiss and handed her to Kaldur with a wave before jogging up to him. "That's where I go to school! What are you going there for?"

He looked down and I realized I'd pushed not just a button, but _the _button: the Superman button. I looked back to Kaldur, whose eyebrows were bent in concern. "I-I'm sorry, Supey—"

"My name's not Supey." He said before stomping over to the transporter and leaving quickly. I looked back over to Kaldur with a frown as he approached me.

"He still needs some time." He said, "I'm sure that he knows you didn't mean any harm."

I nodded, still feeling bad about it, but looked at the time and saw that I had to go. I gave Kaldur a quick hug and ran to the transporter. "Remember to come back right after school is over, Angie. Team training begins today." Kaldur called out.

* * *

"I'm sorry babe! How many times do I have to say it?"

"Until you realize that your apologies aren't honest."

I glared up at Chad, still angry. He groaned, standing up as he smacked his forehead. "I am being honest though! Come on, I even bought you flowers as an apology gift!"

He attempted to hand me the bouquet again but I merely stared at the pink roses. "I never planned for us to fight; he's the one that approached me, remember?"

"You hit first." I said simply before opening my book and ending the conversation. Chad opened his mouth to say something but I sent a glare up to him, and he shoved the flowers between me and my book. He stomped away, pushing everyone in his way. I sighed, taking the flowers and closing the book before noticing Victor staring at me from across the cafeteria. I opened my book again to avoid eye contact.

"You really aren't going to sit with us?" Jamie asked, sitting down beside me with her lunch. I looked at her, sighing.

"How can I? After Rose put up that article about Chad and Victor fighting over _me_, which wasn't the case at all, everyone will think I'm choosing Victor over Chad! I don't want to get any more attention than I already have."

Jamie leaned onto her hand, sighing. "That's fair enough…really, what was Rose thinking, putting that in the school paper?"

"The world may never know." I responded before looking down at my book again.

I was really unhappy right now. I knew that Chad did like me, to an extent, and that the fight hadn't been completely fueled by revenge for him, but I knew that that wasn't the case for Victor. I looked over to Jamie. "Is this why Tommy always stays with Victor?"

She looked over at me, tilting her head. "What?"

"Because of these…emotional outbursts," I continued, "is that why Tommy is always with him?"

She stared at me before slowly nodding and looking down at her tray. "He's…different. But then again, we all are, aren't we, Angie?"

I blinked before staring at her as she stared back. The bell rang and she stood up without another word, and I let her go in confusion. "…wait…what?"

* * *

I walked through the teleporter with a sigh, and opened my eyes to see everyone standing in uniform. M'gann greeted me. "Hey Angie! How was your day at school?"

"Seemed like a good one," Robin noted with a grin, "Nice flowers!"

I looked down, having completely forgotten about them, and swung them behind my back. "N-no! It's not what it looks like!"

"She's getting flustered!" Wally said with a grin, zipping behind me to bring the flowers out into the open. I looked at Robin with a panicked expression, but he only grinned along with Wally. "Aw, look! The little card says sorry!"

"Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?" Robin asked, walking up and wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

I pushed him off. "I don't have a boyfriend!"

Robin merely laughed as he walked back to the group. "Right…and I don't have a girlfriend."

My heart fell as Wally focused his attention onto Robin, shoving the flowers back into my hands. I stared at him, my heart throbbing. "You have a girlfriend? You sneaky little bat! When did this happen?"

"That's on a need to know basis." Robin replied before the two began to wrestle.

I looked over to see Kaldur frowning. I felt my cheeks grow hot under his gaze; I must have looked like a complete fool. Here I was, acting like a completely smitten fool for a guy who was already taken.

"Angie," He called cautiously, "Shall I go get Lae for you?"

I shook my head. "I'll go get her so I can put her in my room."

"Allow me to accompany you," He said gently, approaching me, "As she is situated in the pool, and you are not in swimming attire."

I said nothing in response and began to walk down the hall. After throwing my things onto my room's floor, Kaldur began to speak.

"While Robin is quite the detective," He said, "He does not always recognize feelings—"

"Kaldur," I raised my hand, stopping, "It's okay. Really. I was acting like a love drunk puppy when I should have been a team mate this whole time. I shouldn't have been liking him…it's not like he'd go for a girl like me even if he _didn't _have a girlfriend anyway."

Kaldur stepped up, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Angie, any man should be happy to receive your advances. You are a sweet and caring young woman."

I looked up at him with a small smile, feeling a little better. He was right; I'd get over it. Robin had just been a three day crush after all.

"Thanks, Kaldur." He really was like an older brother to me. He was caring, sweet and serious when he needed to be. I stared up at him and he shifted under my gaze. "Wouldn't it have been great if I had just liked you instead?"

He let go of my shoulder in surprise and shuffled, unsure on what to say. "I-I'm sorry, Angie, I—"

"Kaldur," I wrapped my hands around one of his, "Relax. I don't actually like you!"

I grinned, scrunching up my nose, "I was trying to tell you that you're better than boy wonder...but we'll keep that our own little secret."

He relaxed and gave my hands a friendly squeeze, and I noted how large his hands were compared to mine. "Let's go get Lae. I need to get in uniform before Black Canary gets here for training."

We got to the pool and Kaldur whistled for Lae. When she didn't respond, Aqualad jumped into the water and grabbed the sleeping puppy from the bottom of the pool. She yawned as he came up holding her. Wrapping her in a towel, I carried her to my room, splitting from Kaldur. After resting her on the bed (at which point she only began to sleep again), I changed, sighing. "No matter how short of a crush it is, it'll always sting won't it?"

I thought of Kaldur's reaction to my comment earlier. "I wonder if he has someone he likes…"

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts of romance, I headed back to the mission room. I looked at Robin, who had ceased fighting with Kid Flash and was now calmly watching Aqualad and KF play a round of holographic air hockey. I sighed, feeling more embarrassed than hurt at this point. I was really immature to have acted to smitten with a guy I barely knew.

Right as I neared Kaldur's side, the transporter announced Superboy's return. "Hi Superboy! How was Metropolis?" M'gann asked with a smile. I forgot that I hadn't asked her about her feelings towards the Super hunk.

When he walked past everybody and through the game they had been playing, I decided to keep my questions about their relationship for later. Someone cleared their throat to my left, and I looked up to see Black Canary and the Martian Man Hunter. "Hi everybody. Ready for training?"

"Uncle J'onn!" M'gann, elated to see her uncle, flew over to embrace him.

"M'gann, I was in the neighborhood," He said, "So I figured I would stop in and see how you were doing."

"A few bumps," M'gann admitted, "But I'm learning!"

"That's all I can ask." J'onn said, smiling.

"Stick around, class is in session." Kaldur and I blinked before looking over to see Supey had been walking away, and BC had called him out on it. He turned, his face showing he was not in the mood.

The floor lit up as she walked towards the center and turned around to face us. I noted that Supey was insulted by her back facing him. I looked at Kaldur, who looked back down at me with the same expression. Supey was angry…really angry. Metropolis hadn't gone well at all.

"I consider it an honor to be your teacher. I'll throw a lot at you. Everything I learned from my own teachers," BC said, taking off her jacket with a grunt, "and my own bruises."

"What happened?" M'gann asked in concern.

"The job." She said, matter-of-factly. She began to explain combat, and requested a combat partner. Of course, the clown volunteered.

"Yeah," KF said, his mouth still half full of a banana, "Right here!"

He took another bite of the banana as he approached her, and began to insist that he show her some of 'his moves' after their training. BC raised her eyebrow with a grin before going for his face with a punch. He blocked it but she immediately ducked down and tripped him, sending him onto his back with a grunt.

"Ow…that hurts…so good."

I found myself covering my mouth, trying not to laugh too loud. Canary helped him up and looked to us. "Does anybody see what he did wrong?"

Robin raised his hand excitedly. "Oh, oh! He hit on teacher and got served?"

"Dude!" KF said in a loud hush as I burst into laughter, Kaldur nudging my arm to get me quiet. I looked up at him with a shaking smile.

"What? It's true!"

Robin leaned forward to send me a grin, and I paused, staring at him. I smiled back.

Canary began to explain, "He allowed me to dictate the terms of—"

"Oh please." We looked behind her to see Supey standing with his arms crossed. "With my powers the battle's always on my terms. I'm a living weapon, and this is a waste of my time."

BC simply looked at him with a grin, "Prove it."

The two stood face to face before squatting. Supey took a swing for her head but she dodged it and flung him over her shoulder. Robin burst into laughter, pointing at Superboy, and Kaldur nudged him hard. He only continued giggling under his hands.

"Robin!" I whispered, "Now is a really bad time to be laughing at—"

"Argh!" Supey interrupted both me and BC with his scream. He charged her again, but she easily dodged him and she tripped him like she had Kid. He landed on his back, and looked like road kill for a moment before he got up, swiping BC's hand out of his way. "That's it. I'm done."

"Training is mandatory." Black Canary said. The two stared each other down until Batman suddenly appeared on screen. We looked up at him, breaking line quickly to approach the projector.

"Batman to the cave." Batman said, "Five hours ago a menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary. The attacker was capable of copying and then duplicating the powers of its attackers and opponents." He continued to explain that this foe was an android that had taken eight leaguers four hours to put down.

Robin questioned its creator, and I stood there, lost in the conversation. The Martian Man Hunter spoke. "The android bears the mark of Professor Ivo."

Aqualad's eyes widened. "But…Ivo is dead."

"So we all thought." Canary said before facing Batman again.

"We're sending the parts, separated in two trucks, for investigation in two different locations: New York and Boston. Every precaution is being taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks in case Ivo, or anyone, tries to take the remains. You will divide into two separate teams to safe guard the trucks."

"Yes!" Wally fist pounded into the air, "Road trip!"

"So now we take out your trash?" We all looked at Supey, and then to Batman to see his reaction.

"You have something better to do?"

I shook my head. _Burn_.

* * *

"Uh. We have a problem." Everyone turned, looking at me as I shuffled my arms out of the motorcycle suit and let it sit at my waist, "I didn't know we'd be riding motorcycles…and I've never driven in my life."

"Well, you can fly." Wally noted before Robin smack the back of his head.

"Dude, do you really expect her to fly all the way? It's too long of a trip!"

"Perhaps we did not think this through." Kaldur said, nodding, "You can ride on Robin or Superboy's bike."

I looked between the two. If Supey wasn't in such a funk I would have gotten on his bike to avoid trying one-sided-awkward conversations with Robin, but since he _was _in a mood…

"Get on." Robin said, grinning as he scooted up, "I'm used to motorcycles more than Superboy is. And I think he likes his space."

I smiled awkwardly and threw my helmet on. He looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. "You're not going to put your suit all the way on? That's a little dangerous, don't you think?"

"I had planned to keep it off in case I needed to fly." I said, fiddling with a sleeve, "Do you think I should put it all the way on?"

He shrugged, starting up the motorcycle, "I'm just saying that the ground will hurt a lot more if you don't."

I threw my arms into the sleeves and zipped up, nervous about my first ride on a motorcycle. I put my arms on his shoulders and he shook his head. "You gotta hold on to my waist! Otherwise you really will fall off."

I looked at Kaldur as I did as he said, and he only shook his head with a grin. Before I could make a face in return, Robin zoomed after the trucks we were to follow. I tightened my grip around his waist and he chuckled. "I said I was used to motorcycles…never said I was slow!"

He sped up and I kept in my scream by burring my face into his jacket. "Robin, you jerk!"

* * *

"If dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of…aster?" I rolled my eyes as Robin questioned vocabulary with Superboy. "See instead of things going wrong, they go right!"

Superboy didn't reply and I looked at him. "Are you alright?"

"Canary." He said with a growl, "Who does she think she is, teaching combat skills to a guy with super strength?"

"Taking down bigger guys is part of the gig." Robin explained, "She learned that the hard way, and so did Batman and, well, me."

Supey replied by zooming forward, doing a wheelie. Robin peaked back at me with a shrug and a grin. "Aren't you glad you didn't go with him?" I nodded viciously.

Suddenly something green zoomed past us and landed on the truck. I leaned to the side, squinting to see what it was. "Is that…a monkey?"

"Angie, Superboy, Robin! Our shipment is under attack!" Aqualad screamed into our ears.

"Kind of figured!" Robin said.

"So is ours!" I replied as more of the monkeys flew to the truck.

Robin looked back at me. "Angie hold on to this!"

I held onto a little bar between the two of us in confusion and he pressed a button, separating us. "R-Robin what is this—"

"Calm down and tuck in your legs! You're gonna fly!" He said before skyrocketing ahead to fight the monkeys. The back of the motorcycle flipped its wheels and began to spin sideways, jerking upwards into the sky. It was offsetting to be in the air by a self-driven contraption.

It began to fire at the monkeys, flying closer to the truck, and I tore my suit off of my arms to pull out my wings. "This is not working well for me!" I said, jumping off and flying closer to the truck myself. Two monkeys jumped onto the motorcycle piece that I had been on and brought it down.

I threw the helmet at one of the monkeys who tried to jump onto me. It missed horribly and I swooped to the side before sending my hair after it. I sent it crashing it down into a couple of its little friends, and some of the other laughing creeps began to fly towards me, shooting my hair and burning it. I pulled my hair back as a strand caught fire and tried putting it out. The monkeys took advantage of my smoking mane and jumped on to my wings. They began to pull them opposite ways and I screeched, wrapping my enflamed hair around them to melt them down.

I managed to get the fire out of my hair as I noticed one of the officers from inside being pulled away from the truck by multiple of the monkeys. I flew after him and swatted the monkeys away before grabbing him and tossing him into the cornfield we were driving beside. Robin called for me as I approached the truck, which was now swerving due to a loss of a tire.

"Get the driver out, now!" I nodded, swooping down as he blocked the monkeys for me (Superboy was swinging wildly at monkeys behind him). I opened the driver's door and wrapped my hair around the guy's waist.

"Come on!" I screamed, pulling him out. Robin jumped into the corn field and I flew the driver down beside him as the truck flipped. "Where is Superboy?" I asked as I flew back over the corn field, towards the truck, looking around.

About ten of the monkeys flew out of the truck, holding the android's box. I looked back at Robin, who was helping the driver out of the cornfield, and then up at the monkeys again. "Robin, I'm going to go get the android body back!"

"Angie, wait!" Robin called, but I waved to him from the air.

"It's okay! I can get them! It's just a couple of monkeys!" I said before taking off after them.

Aqualad screamed into my ear a few seconds later. "Angie, you should not be going alone; you do not have enough training!"

"I took out the same amount of monkeys earlier! I'll be alright!" I replied, "Trust me! And if I can't catch them, you can track me, right?"

There was a short silence. M'gann spoke. "She is right."

"Alright." Kaldur said, "But if it becomes too much of a fight, pull back to a safe distance—"

"I read you!" I said quickly before catching up to the group of baboons. As I approached, some of the monkeys stopped to stall me. I sent my hair after them, wrapping around their bodies, but they began to twist in my locks, pulling me in.

"These things can _learn_?" I grunted at their tugging before squeezing them with my hair, only to have them sever the link by setting my curls on fire again. They came close to me, now that my hair was severed, and latched onto my wings, burning my feathers with their lasers.

I twirled quickly, a new technique Hawkwoman had taught me during our private lessons, to shake them off. It worked, but my wings had been injured. I was slowing down quickly, and the android pieces were getting farther and farther away.

"Out of my way!"

I flew upwards right in time as Superboy came springing up into the air, hopping after the android. I flew after him, keeping a distance this time from the android box. I called out to Superboy. "Are you okay?"

"Shut up!" He said before increasing his speed.

I shook my head as I scowled at him. "You're not taking Canary's advice at all! Calm down!"

"I don't need advice, and I don't need your help!" He said, sending me a glare as he was in the air. I shook my head one more time before flying a little faster just to put some distance between us. I contacted Aqualad to let him know that Superboy and I were on the monkey's trail.

* * *

I was tired when we finally found the monkeys going to a train. The crescent moon was nearly up in the sky and the sun had set. Superboy had gotten to the train faster than I had due to my injuries, but I made it a few train carts back. I took a moment to take a breather and contact the rest of the team. "They're on a train, and Superboy is inside now!"

"Stay clear until we get there." Aqualad commanded, "Kid should be there soon enough, and the rest of us are on our way as well."

I agreed with little protest and waited on the top, pulling my wings back into my back. I had never hurt my wings, but I was hoping that pulling them in would save some pain. It worked a little, although my spine would have jitters of pain every once in a while. I laid low until suddenly there was a loud crash. I looked up to see Superboy at the hands of the android from the video Batman had showed us.

"Superboy!" I called out, pulling my wings back out for action. I bit my lip to keep from screaming as they tore out of my back. Something was different. Something was wrong.

I stumbled there for a moment, trying to make the world stop spinning, before I looked back up to see the machine reeling his arm back for a punch. I flew over as fast as I could, my hair lashing out to Superboy, and grabbed him away from the android's punch. He missed Superboy, but got me.

I shot across the sky, everything filled with stars when I tried to focus. I hazily kept the focus and flapped my wings, but Superboy called out to me. "Angie, watch out!"

He pulled my hair until I was in his grasp and covered me as we crashed through glass. I stayed on the ground, moaning lightly. Superboy shook my shoulder roughly. "Angie, Angie! Answer me!"

"I-I can't move…" I said, "Maybe if I pull my wings in…"

I screamed at the pain as I tried. I stopped, huffing, and shook my head. "It's no use…"

Suddenly the android burst through what was left of the glass and attacked Superboy. I tried sitting up, I tried to at least get away from the fight, but it was no use.

"Angie, are you at a school right now?" Robin's voice rang in my ear. I groaned, lifting my hand steadily to get to my ear.

"I…I don't know…the android is here…he's…Superboy…"

"Angie? Angie are you hurt? Pull back, now!" Kaldur asked through the line. I pressed the communicator again but was suddenly pulled by my hair. I screeched, my back being pulled up as the android pulled me to him. I was terrified as he held me by my hair, which had also lost energy to fight. It carried me like hunting game and threw me out a hole suddenly. I fell down, managing to at least spread my wings to help the fall. I looked around to see I was in a gym. Superboy was a few feet in front of me.

"I have to say, your little friend over here was quite clever in side swiping you from Amazing Amazo...that is, until she sacrificed herself." I looked up at the bleachers to see a man with monkeys surrounding him. "I never got your name, sweetheart."

I struggled to keep my head up. "I-Ivo…?"

"Silly girl," He said, shaking his head, "_I'm_ Ivo. Is it really that hard for you to understand? How boring; I thought you'd be quick to your feet, but I suppose that was a one time show."

The monkeys laughed and I got a chill. He waved his hand towards me, yawning. "Amazo, take care of her for me."

"No!" Superboy screamed, standing up and charging Amazo. But he had already had his arms up, his fingers laced together and coming down towards my head. I stared in fear, immobile. My hair wrapped itself around my legs and arms as if trying to protect me one last time.

"Yoink!" I was picked up suddenly and I opened my eyes to see Kid Flash holding me. He looked down at me with a grin. "Did I ever tell you that you look like a hostess cupcake when your hair is all wrapped up like that?"

He set me down beside Robin, who threw a batarang at Amazo. Amazo clocked into Martian Man Hunter's powers and let it phase through him. "Angie, are you alright?"

I shook my head slowly. "I…I can barely move."

KF picked me up again as Amazo started to fly towards us with Red Tornado's flight. He tried to run out of the spinning wind but it knocked us over by the bleachers, KF running into the wall. He groaned as he looked up again, but hopped up quickly, running behind the bleachers. He dropped me off under the bleachers and told me to keep quiet before he wrapped around. I sat there, shivering in fear and concern. I was useless right now, and it was because I didn't listen to orders.

I could hear KF screaming, and Robin grunting as they fought Amazo while I sat and did nothing. I looked at my wings, seeing the damage now, and wrapped my arms around my knees. They were useless right now, and if I had to move, my wings would only slow me down. I dug my nails into my knees as I sucked them in. I tried my best not to scream, resulting in tears.

It was funny. Just a couple of hours ago I was complaining about my nonexistent love life. Now I just wanted to get out of here alive.

My back was aching by the time I finished pulling in my wings, but I could move again. As I stood up, Superboy crashed into the bleachers above me. I heard Ivo cowardly call for Amazo's protection, and I quickly caught on to what Supey was doing when he began to talk about channeling his anger. He was making the battle his, and distracting the android.

I ran around the other side, ignoring the blasting pain from my side, and willed my hair to creep up on Ivo. It grabbed his ankle and pulled him down the bleachers, landing him into Robin's kick. I sent a few other strands to attack his two little monkey friends that were trying to follow him and quickly crushed the robots before they could react. I grinned victoriously with a huff. "That…was for pulling my wings!"

"Anybody wanna play keep away?" Robin asked with a grin.

"Oh! Me, me!" Kid called, running towards Ivo. Amazo accessed Superman's powers and stomped, sending KF into the air. Robin threw a batarang at him and it passed through him. He turned, calling out to superman's powers again, but Superboy shoved his fist into his head as he phased back from Martian Man Hunter's powers.

We all stood there for a moment before the Android's head exploded. I cheered, limping forward with a grin. "We got him! Way to go Supey!"

"Quick! Help me disassemble it now!" Robin said.

"Dude the guy has no head." Kid said, standing in confusion.

"Don't take any chances!" Aqualad declared, bursting through the doors. He looked around as he raced over, and his eyes landed on me. "Angie, are you alright?"

I smiled weakly as he approached me. "I'm not doing as well as I had been…but we got the android, so…h-hey…" I fell into his arms and he lowered me to the floor. I gripped my side, grunting, and he gently moved his hand to the area I was covering with mine.

"You have multiple broken ribs." He said as he hoisted me up into a sitting position, "And what happened to your wings?"

I shook my head, leaning on his chest. "I pulled them back in…because they're hurt…so I figured it'd help them heal…"

I wrapped my arms around Kaldur's neck as he picked me up. Superboy approached me, his face wrought with guilt. "Angie…I'm sorry that you were hurt because of me."

I shook my head, looking over at him. "I did what I had to do, and so did you. You ended up saving us all at the end…it's a good thing you finally used Canary's advice." We shared a smile until I shivered. It was suddenly getting colder.

I snuggled closer to Kaldur's chest and he looked down at me. "Let us return to the cave to get you medical attention."

I nodded, "I'm going to take a nap…on the way back…oka…" I couldn't even finish my sentence. I blacked out before I knew it.


	7. Chapter 7

I opened my eyes to see nothing but darkness. I sat up, rubbing my eye as I adjusted to the dark. I could tell I was in my room and on my bed with Lae between my legs. I gently moved my legs around her and stood up. I fell back down onto the bed quickly as my side jolted with pain. Oh, right, broken ribs. I had a scar on one side, and now I'd have bruising on the other. Grand. There goes my bathing suit body.

I chuckled; so even after almost dying, I still had time to think like a teenage girl.

Lae woke up barking, hearing me, and I hushed her, petting her head. "Lae, it's just me, relax." While her overprotection of me was endearing, she had helped me realize that I had a headache from last night's battle.

I stood up slowly this time and managed to get to the light and flip it on. I looked around my room and saw that everything was as I left it. I was glad that I wasn't too messy of a person; someone had to have brought me to my bed, and I didn't have to feel embarrassed about my room looking like crap. I looked at my clock, which told me it was eight o'clock on Saturday. I had slept solidly the whole night, yet strangely woken up early. Maybe it was just because I was thirsty.

I looked in the mirror, noting that my hair was a mess. Many of the ends were burnt from the fight, and others were long enough that they sat on the floor. I decided to fix my hair before I went out of the room…and to use the bathroom. I had to pee.

Once I used the bathroom and finished the trim, I petted Lae and asked if she was hungry. She wagged her tail, answering yes, and I called her to follow me as we left the room. I stepped out, walking slowly with the wall as my crutch, and made my way into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of water and chugged it down before finding something for Lae to eat. Usually we had some meat saved for her, but it looked like Wally had eaten it all…again. I poured her a bowl of broccoli, to which she gladly ate.

I stood up slowly but still felt a pinch on my side. I yelped lightly, grabbing the counter to help hoist me up. "People didn't look so in pain in the movies when they had broken ribs…" I muttered before sitting down on a nearby chair. I watched Lae eat, and once she was finished, we walked back to my room. I got back into bed, sighing, and wondered if I should set my alarm clock so that I wouldn't sleep the day away. I decided against it; it was Saturday, after all.

I lay down, snuggling with Lae into bed again in peace…until I realized what Monday meant. "I have two exams coming up!"

I shook my head in disbelief, having completely forgotten that fourth quarter was coming to an end already, which meant exams.

I couldn't go to sleep, not with the knowledge that I'd have to repeat some of my classes next year. I got up slowly again and turned on the light before heading over to my desk. I pulled out my backpack and looked at the work I had left to do. I decided to work on World History, since it would be the hardest; Biology, and I had turned in most of that work during my lunch periods anyway (including all of my math assignments). I stared at my last class's assignments: English. It was easier than World History, but it required _so _much reading that I never wanted to touch it, and so I usually didn't, resulting in cramming everything into one day…like today.

I stayed up for about another four hours, finishing my World History homework and getting through some of the English torture. I paused, thinking about Jamie. She was acting strange; besides Rose, actually, that whole little group was acting strange. And Jamie acted like she _knew _something was up with me. I noted to talk to her after exams Monday when someone knocked gently on my door. I called for them to come in and M'gann jumped happily inside. "You're awake!" She stopped bouncing up and down when she saw how exhausted I was.

"What are you doing, Angie?" She asked, pulling me up from my chair, "You need to be resting!"

"But I have exams on Monday!" I said, shaking my head as she pulled me over to the bed, "If I don't finish this homework and read everything, I'll fail my classes!"

"You can do that later!" She scolded, laying me down and pulling my sheets over me, "You just took a hard beating, and you need to focus on healing!"

I looked at her, shaking my head. "I couldn't go back to sleep after I realized it…"

"Just think about the fact that you've done enough for now." She said. I took it into consideration, and acknowledged that I had finished most of the work. I closed my eyes as M'gann stood up and walked out of the room, turning off the light.

Perhaps falling asleep again was easier than I thought.

* * *

I woke up again, this time simply refreshed. I looked at the clock to see that I had slept for another eight hours, and it was now four o'clock in the afternoon. I sat up slowly and noticed that Lae was sitting by the door. I mumbled questioningly towards her as I got up. As I approached the door Lae ran back and forward between my feet and the steel. "Calm down little puppy. I'm coming, I'm coming." I opened the door and stepped out, tugging on my night gown. Lae barked and ran down the hall. I turned to go after her, but found her returning on her own. I blinked until I saw Kaldur round the corner. He looked up at me in surprise.

"Angie, should you not be in bed, recovering?"

"M'gann told me that earlier!" I said, shaking my hand at him, "I just woke up, and I feel—"

A pain ripped through my side and I grunted as I held my side. I looked up at Kaldur, who ran up to me quickly. "W-well…I was feeling fine."

He offered his arm and steered me back to my room. I lay back down and he sat down on the side of the bed. He held a jar of something green; it was very mossy looking. "What is _that_?" I questioned as he held it up to me.

"This is an Atlantian potion that I had made for your injuries. It should help you heal faster."

"O-oh…you shouldn't have…" I stared at it, my lip curled, "I…do I have to eat it?"

He chuckled at my expression and shook his head. "Simply rub it onto your ribs before you bandage yourself again. It should help you recover in two to three weeks instead of the usual four to five.

I sighed in relief before blinking. "Wait. Two to three weeks?" He nodded with a smile until he realized that I was questioning with anguish.

"What is the matter?"

I rolled onto my uninjured side, moaning. "I have exams starting Monday! If I can barely walk today; there's no way I'll be able to go school at this point!" I grabbed my pillow and rolled slightly, kicking my feet.

Kaldur stopped me, taking the pillow from my face, "Angie, I am sure that this has happened to Wally and Robin before. Why don't we ask them?"

I agreed, and Kaldur insisted that he pick me up, but after a long battle between polite him and stubborn me, the thought was dropped. Instead I used his arm as a crutch. We walked over to the lounge to see Wally and Superboy playing a video game, and Superboy sucking horribly. Supey threw his remote down as Wally threw his up.

"You cheated!" Supey insisted as Wally grinned at him.

"No, no I didn't. You have just been beaten by the master."

"Why you—"

"You did kind of suck."

The two looked back in surprise to see me, and I grinned. "Hey!"

"Angie, you're up!" Wally said, jumping over the couch, "Are you feeling any better?"

"Well, I am feeling better, but…" I explained my dilemma to him. "What do you think?"

He put his hand to his chin, shrugging. "To be honest, I'm not sure. I've had bad injuries before, but they never collided with my exams."

My shoulders lowered. "I wonder if it's the same for Robin."

"If what's the same for me?" Robin asked, walking up to us. I explained the situation again, and he did the same thing as Wally, holding his chin in his hand and shrugging. "Nope, I'm not that unlucky."

I growled, throwing my open hand up in the air before smacking my face. "What am I going to do? I'm going to have to repeat World History and English!"

"Maybe Batman will know what to do?" Wally asked before Robin nodded.

"Batman _always_ knows what to do." Robin insisted. And so we called him. After I explained, again, the situation, Batman narrowed his eyes down at me.

"Your situation is understandable…I will have representatives go to the school Monday and explain it to them."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Wally shouted, "She gets to just not go to school? And she still passes? No fair!"

"I never said she wouldn't be taking her exams." Batman said, "She will be taking the exams in her room with supervision to ensure she does not use any…'help.'"

It sucked, but it was better than not taking them at all. "Thank you, Batman." I said, sighing in relief.

"Batman out."

* * *

"I'M FREE!" I cheered as I opened my door, near tears. Red Tornado came out behind me, holding my papers.

"Congratulations, Angie, on completing your freshman year of high school education."

"Thank you, Red!" I said, stretching before making my way to the lounge. Aqualad's Atlantian potion had really helped keep the jabs of pain away, and I found that today I could walk without needing to lean on anything.

It was Monday, and I had finished my World History and English tests. I discovered Sunday night that if you had an A in the class by the time exams rolled around, you didn't have to take them, so I sent my homework in first thing in the morning and stressed that they look over my work. Mr. Biology gave me an A, knowing that I knew my stuff, and I had passed math with flying colors, so I was finished with my school year by twelve.

I arrived at the lounge to see M'gann holding cookies out for me. "Congrats on finishing your exams!"

"Thanks! It's good to be done!" I said, taking a cookie. I looked to the couch to see everyone but Wally. He had started school today. Robin grinned.

"Let's go to the beach to celebrate!" He suggested. I held my hands together, nodding happily.

"Let's go!"

* * *

The sun was shining and the waves were high, I was out of school for a month, and there were three attractive men with their shirts off around me. Yup. This couldn't get any better.

"Hello Meagan!" M'gann said, slapping her head, "We should go to the beach _every day_!"

I agreed as I shoved my hair into my swimming cap. "I have no problem with that!"

Robin lowered his head, his hand on his chest, "But first, a moment for our poor comrade."

M'gann lowered her head as well. "Poor Wally…"

I gave them their moment, but to be honest, I was ready to get to the water. I had gone swimming a couple of times in the pool, but nothing could compare to the sandy beach. I clapped to get their attention, and I stared at them, my chin up and my eyes narrowed.

"…ready set go!"

I raced to the sea side, laughing happily as the sea water touched my feet. To be honest, I really missed that part about Maine; being on the swimming team I'd often gone out to the ocean to practice with the team. I had good memories there.

I got knee deep into the water and Kaldur joined me. "Are you sure you are well enough to swim? It has only been three days, after all. Perhaps you should stay where your feet can touch the ground?"

"No, I think I'm fine! The stuff you gave me has kept me from feeling any pain!" I said, going deeper into the water. Kaldur went with me, and we swam until we couldn't feel the sand underneath our feet. I sighed happily before ducking down into the water and swimming low. I looked forward, able to see a school of fish, and I swam towards them. They must have been used to people, because they merely swam around me, sometimes touching my limbs. I swam back up to the top, having run out of air, and I took a deep breath before looking around. Robin, M'gann and Supey were towards the shore, playing with a beach ball, but I couldn't see Kaldur anywhere.

I waited for a little bit, figuring that he'd gone under when I did and that he'd come up soon. But he didn't. I nervously began to swim back towards the shore, not liking being alone in the sea. While I loved the water, and had good memories of it, I still had bad ones too.

As I made my way over, I felt something on my foot. I remembered how something had taken hold of my foot the night of my birthday, and felt a stab of panic run through my body. I let out a yelp and kicked…_hard_. Whatever it was let go quickly, and I began to swim again. I heard a splash behind me and looked over my shoulder to see Kaldur. I stopped, turning to him, and realized he'd been the one that had taken hold of my foot. I swam up to him, cheeks red. "Kaldur you shouldn't have scared me like that! I thought you were—"

He turned to me, covering his nose. I covered my mouth and gasping. "Oh my god, Kaldur, I'm so sorry!"

He shook his head, rubbing his nose. "I-I should be the one apologizing. I was in the wrong, grabbing your foot."

"No you shouldn't be sorry, I should! I kicked you in the face!" I leaned in, using his shoulder to hold me up as I used the other to move his hand and see the damage. "You're bleeding!"

He touched the blood, blinking, and looked up at me. He saw the horror written on my face and waved his hands. "I'm alright!"

I let go of him and covered my face in embarrassment. "I'm _so_ sorry Kaldur!" I looked up at him, my face red.

"Let's go get some cotton balls!" I said, swimming back towards the shore. He swam behind me and we walked up, passing the rest of the team.

"What's wrong with your face?" Robin asked Kaldur, who was holding his nose. He looked at me, who in turned looked down.

"We…had an unfortunate…accident." Kaldur said. M'gann looked between us and squealed.

"Did you try to kiss in the water?"

We looked at her with wide eyes, both of us equally surprised. "What? No! I kicked him in the face!" Her look of excitement was replaced with surprise. I covered my mouth, realizing I'd screamed my idiot move, and Robin laughedloudly.

"You kicked Kaldur…in the _face_? How did you even manage that? The water is Kaldur's natural habitat!"

"He grabbed my foot, and it startled me!" I said in defense, "I kicked without thinking!"

He only continued to laugh, even Superboy joining in. I looked at them as M'gann giggled, and shook my head at them. "You're all terrible." I pulled Kaldur's hand towards the cave and Robin continued to tease me.

"We may be terrible, but at least we don't kick Atlantians in the face!"

"Shut up!"

* * *

"There, that should do it." I closed the first aid kit and smiled up at Kaldur, who looked less enthusiastic.

"I thank you for your assistance, Angie, but…do you not find this to be…too much?"

I stared at his nose, which had cotton balls to stop the bleeding up one nostril and bandages stuffed with padding over the top. I watched him look at his nose, going cross eyed, and began to laugh. "Stop making that face! You look so stupid!" I wiped a tear before taking off most of the bandaging. He stared at me, and I noticed.

"What is it?" I asked.

He shook his head and smiled. "It is nothing."

I finished taking off everything except for a thin bandage and the cotton balls and stood up. "There, you're all better." I lifted the first aid kit onto the shelf, when my side suddenly began to ache. I brought my arms down and squatted.

"Do your ribs hurt again?" Kaldur asked, quickly at my side. I stayed still until the pain went away and sighed, looking up at Kaldur.

"I-I think the potion wore off. I should go put some more on." I stood up, Kaldur standing with me, and he offered his assistance. I accepted it greatly. "Thanks, Kaldur. I'll need to shower first, so I'll meet you back here."

He nodded and I went to my room. I showered (with Lae at my feet, enjoying the warm water) before changing into a jogging bra and shorts and combing through my hair. I dried Lae off a little before grabbing the potion and a roll of bandages and heading back to Kaldur. He was waiting on the couch, still in his bathing suit, and I sat down beside him. "I thought you'd at least go change…do you want to?" I asked, tilting my head as I put down the things I had gotten.

Lae jumped into his lap and he smiled down to her before sending a smile my way. "It is alright. I was planning on swimming a bit more after we returned to the beach." I nodded and faced him. He looked down at my bruising and sighed quietly before picking up the potion.

He opened it and scooped out half a handful of the goopy green stuff. I leaned on the couch, shaking my head. "No matter how many times I use this stuff, I'm never going to get used to the texture."

He chuckled as he put the jar down and stood (Lae jumped to the floor and cuddled on a pillow). I looked at him as he proceeded to sit on the floor. "It would be easier if you laid down for this part."

I nodded, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable. Maybe it was because he was touching my stomach? Maybe it was just a side effect from the potion. My cheeks turned a bit pink, but I stared at the ceiling, trying to calm myself down. He rubbed the potion onto my injury and I shivered at the chilling sensation. We didn't speak for a while, but he broke the silence. "Has your other injury healed completely?"

I paused, not moving for a moment, before bringing my hand over to my scarred hip. "…yeah, it's healed pretty well. There is permanent scarring, though."

He didn't reply, and I peeked down at him. He was concentrated on spreading the potion, massaging it in gently. His hands were softer than I'd thought; maybe it was from living in the ocean?

"Hey, Kaldur, what is it like living in Atlantis?"

He paused, going back to the jar to grab more of the potion, and turning to make eye contact with me for a moment with a smile. "It is quite enjoyable."

"Are there actually mermaids?" I asked with a giggle, facing the ceiling again.

"Yes, many. One of my closest comrades is a mermaid."

"Really?" I said, sitting up a little in excitement, "I was kidding! That's so awesome! Is she pretty? Can she sing?"

He chuckled, pushing my shoulder down to lay me flat again before continuing the conversation. "She is very alluring, and she does have quite the voice."

I held my hand into the air, wiggling my fingers. "I used to always wish I was a mermaid when I was little. I spent so much time in the water, everybody often joked about it. I used to wish I had webbed fingers like you do, and I would climb on top of rocks and look back at the shore from the sea."

Kaldur chuckled, bringing me back to my senses, and I looked at him with a tinted face. "D-don't laugh at me!"

He looked at me, wiping his hands on a napkin before standing up. "I was not laughing at you, Angie. I was just thinking about how she would say similar things, but about the human world." He offered his hand to me and pulled me up into a sitting position before he knelt down in front of me. I continued the conversation in curiosity.

"Did she really?" I asked slowly. He nodded.

"She does not ask much now-a-days, but when we were younger, she was fascinated by humans. She was like Ariel, from that movie many human children see."

"The Little Mermaid!" I said with a smile, "My favorite movie. But she isn't curious anymore?"

Kaldur lifted my arms and began to wrap my core. "She has seen enough of the human world through books, and has heard much through my experiences."

I sighed, pouting. "And here I was hoping I could make her a pen pal." Kaldur only laughed in reply, and continued to wrap my wound.

I stared at his head in silence for a moment before speaking again. "So…is there anyone you like in Atlantis?"

He dropped the roll of bandages and my face lit up. He looked at me nervously, knowing there was no escape. "You _do_! Who is it? What's her name? What does she look like? Is she the mermaid?"

He shook his head as he grabbed the bandage and continued to wrap my core. "…She is not a mermaid."

"What is her name?" I asked, kicking his legs gently. He sighed, having finished wrapping my core, and stood up. I grabbed his hand and pulled (although it did nothing). "Don't ignore me! I want to know! You knew about my crush, let me hear about yours!"

"Fine," He said with a huff, taking his hand from mine and rubbing the back of his neck. "Her name is Tula."

* * *

We came back from the beach fully satisfied. Even if I hadn't been in the water, I got to day dream about Kaldur and Tula getting married under water, like a bubbly fairy tale. I begged him to introduce me soon to her, and after much pestering, he agreed if I could find the appropriate attire to go down to the floor of the ocean (he reminded me especially about the pressure).

But while I had been so happy, I felt like something died inside of me. I didn't really understand, but I was a little sad to hear his romance.

"That was the best beach day ever!" M'gann said, coming back into the lounge where I had been sitting for a while.

I agreed, folding my turtle neck down a little and pulling my sleeves up to my elbows. Batman had instructed that we suit up about an hour ago, but I hadn't been expecting it to be so hot. Everyone filed in their uniforms, and we made our way to the transporter area. Soon the robotic voice announced the arrival of Batman, Red Tornado, Green Arrow and Artemis. I blinked at the last name and waited to see who he or she was.

They approached us, including a blonde who I guessed to be Artemis. She was a green lover, I noted, as her uniform was only shades of green. Even her bow and arrows were green. She noticed me staring and gave me a grin; I grinned back.

"Team, meet Artemis." Green Arrow said as she stepped up. We made a semi-circle around her in silence. It took me a moment before I realized why she was being introduced.

"Are you a new team—"

"_Recognize: Kid Flash."_

I turned to see Wally running in, screaming about how the 'Wall-man' was here, and ready to party. He tripped on his large umbrella (which I questioned why he needed it when the sun had already set), and he looked up to the group.

"Wall man, huh?" Artemis asked with a grin, "I love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?"

Wally walked up, obviously unimpressed. "Uh, who is this?"

"Artemis, your new teammate." She answered for Kaldur.

"Kid Flash," Wally said, "Never heard of you."

Artemis frowned and Green arrow introduced her as his new protégée. Wally asked what had happened to his old one, but before he could answer another person came through the transporter.

"_Recognized: Speedy."_

I blinked, wondering if Speedy was another speedster like Wally, but when he came through with a bow and arrows on his back, I managed to piece things together fairly quickly. Speedy was the old protégée.

"Well for starters he doesn't go by Speedy anymore." He said, walking up to us, "Call me Red Arrow."

"Roy," GA called, stepping up, "You look—"

"Replaceable." He said dryly.

"It's not like that; you told me you were going solo!"

They bickered back and forward about Artemis being added to the team (as a replacement, Red Arrow continued to argued), while I stood there in confusion. I didn't know either of them, but from what I had seen, I liked Artemis more. Red seemed like a jerk.

Kaldur stepped up. "She is not your replacement. We have always wanted you on the team, and we have no quota on archers."

"And if we did," Wally added, "You know who we'd pick."

"Whatever Bay Watch," Artemis said, leaning onto one leg, "I'm here to stay."

I grinned, nodding towards her. "I may be missing a couple of pieces, but from what I'm seeing, I vote Artemis."

Red turned towards me with a glare. "And what do you know, Medusa?"

I gasped before glaring at him. "Excuse you—"

Kaldur spoke, interrupting our argument. "You came to us for a reason."

"Yeah." He began to explain that there was a nano-robotics scientist that had gone missing, and he had located her in the league of shadow's grasp. Robin and Wally assumed that he needed help getting her, but Red casually pushed that idea off. "I already did the rescuing."

I crossed my arms. So he was rude _and _cocky. I'm glad he wasn't on the team.

He explained more, saying that the problem was that the scientist had been coerced into making a machine called FOG, which could eat through anything…including flesh and bone. Luckily but not so luckily, the robotics were being used to gain information.

I reminded myself to ask Robin and Kaldur who all of these bad guys were.

"Sounds like the Shadows." Artemis said with a sigh.

"Like you know anything about the Shadows." Wally spat. Artemis just stared at him silently with a grin. "Who are you?"

Roy brought us back onto the topic at hand. "Roquette is working on a virus to render the FOG useless."

"But if they figure out she can do that…" Robin said.

"They'll target her." RA finished, "She's hidden away at a high school right now."

"You left her alone?" Green Arrow asked.

"She's safe enough, for now." He replied.

Green Arrow tried to work with Red, but he continually brought Artemis into the equation. Batman stepped in, pulling Green's shoulder. He sighed, and took a step back beside Artemis. "You brought this to the team…it's their mission…which means it's her mission now too."

"Then my work here is done." Red said, walking back to the transporter. He made sure to override his name from Speedy to Red Arrow before he disappeared.

We stood in silence and I looked to Artemis, who was having a glaring war with Wally. I rolled my eyes and walked over to her, hand out. "It's nice to meet you, Artemis. Welcome to the team."

She shook my hand with a smile. "Thanks. Nice to know _someone_ doesn't hate me."

"Don't worry," I said with a grin, "Wally and I had a fall out at the beginning too. It'll just take some time to warm up is all."

We walked to the bioship and she shrugged, "I hope so."

* * *

"_Everybody online?"_ M'gann's hand was there in my mind again. I shivered, wondering if I'd ever get used to it. I spread my wings, which had surprisingly healed quickly, and flew off the roof of the high school to check the surroundings.

"_Whoa, this is weird!" _Artemis said.

"_And distracting." _Roquette added before further complaining about all of the scientific things she had to do to make the virus, and that now she had to hear 'teen think' in her skull.

"_Lady do you always complain when someone tries to help you?"_ Wally asked. I could hear him chewing as he spoke.

"_Pot, kettle! Have you met?"_ Artemis asked sarcastically. I assumed she was talking about the scientist and Wally.

"_Hey! I do not need attitude from the newbie who threw Red Arrow off the team!"_

Yup. Wally was definitely involved.

"_That is so not on me."_

"_Fate of the world at stake!"_ Roquette called out.

"_She started it!" _Wally complained.

"_Wally, stop being a jerk to Artemis!" _I hissed,_ "She's our teammate now and you'll have to deal with the fact that your jerk friend isn't."_

"_Hey! He's not a jerk—"_

"_He called me Medusa." _I scowled. _"He's a mega-jerk."_

Wally said nothing and I huffed.

"_Look, how about I just help Miss Martian, Angie and Superboy patrol the perimeter."_ Artemis suggested.

"_Good idea."_ Kaldur said solemnly. I was actually angry when I heard the tone in his voice. Was the leader of our team judging her too? I just didn't understand why Wally and him were giving her a hard time. She seemed like a cool girl.

"_You might wanna cut her some slack. It was her arrow that saved you from Amazo."_ Robin said. I blinked; she had been there? When?

"_What? No! That was Speedy—I mean Red Arrow's arrow…wasn't it?"_ KF asked slowly.

"_Not so much."_ Robin replied.

"_Hmph. Well, still not giving her the satisfaction."_ I rolled my eyes with a grin before Artemis replied.

"_You know I can still hear you!"_

Kid growled in frustration and I chuckled to myself before listening to Kaldur and Roquette's conversation. I sat down on the top of the roof, patting my ribs gently to see if any pain would come soon. It had been a couple of hours since Kaldur had changed my bandages.

I didn't like Roquette's attitude, but Kaldur seemed to see more in her, and guaranteed her safety. She began to track the FOG machine, her voice more at ease. I rolled my eyes before sighing. "Why don't you see the good in the chick who is on the team? You're being a real jerk right now, _Aqualad_…"

Suddenly I heard Artemis. _"Mm, that boy…" _

Uh oh. She was hitting on M'gann's turf…that wouldn't end well. _"He can hear you. We all can hear you." _M'gann said with a growl.

"_Oh, I know." _

I snickered to myself. You had to hand it to her, she was straight forward. Aqualad called out to M'gann, telling her to configure the bioship for Superboy and Robin to use to track down the FOG machine. The two left, and I took the opportunity to go into the room with Wally and Aqualad. I passed by Miss Martian and Artemis and patted their shoulders before heading inside.

Wally was standing in front of the door and I gave him a disapproving glare before heading inside. _"What are you glaring at me for?"_

"_Just guard the door."_ I said before walking over to Aqualad. He could tell I was upset, but I said nothing to him and simply stood beside him. _"I came in for more protection, since Robin left."_

He said nothing for a moment before speaking. _"I cannot help but notice that you seem upset—"_

Suddenly he jumped in front of the doctor, and yelled for her to get down. I jumped onto her, pulling her to the ground as Kaldur blocked more projectiles. The attacker came into the room, sweet talking as she fought. I pulled the doctor away towards the door as Aqualad 'entertained' our guest.

"That had to hurt." She purred, running up to attack him. His tattoos began to glow and he pulled water out, turning them into swords.

"Atlantian skin is quite dense."

She continued to attack him, "And my shuriken are quite poisonous."

The two continued to fight and I shook my head, my hair flowing longer and longer, ready to deflect anything she had to throw. I watched the two battle carefully, my heart racing. Kaldur tripped, and the attacker threw her weapon at us, which I swiped away with my locks. I threw a strand at her but she dodged it, only to begin battling Kaldur again.

"Poison slowing you down?" She asked as they clashed, face to face.

"Jelly fish poisoning. I am largely immune." He glared back before she smacked him in the head, sending him down.

"Aqualad!" I called before she lifted her sword, ready to strike Aqualad down for good. I swatted the weapon out of her hand quickly. "Don't touch him!"

She took a step closer, and I wrapped my hair around the doctor. "What's the matter? Got a crush on the merman?"

The doctor began to question me as the hair wrapped thickly around her waist but I told her to hush and trust me. "Aqualad said we'd protect you; we will!"

I shot my strands towards the mystery woman to keep her at bay, and Artemis' arrow knocked her weapon out of her hand when she wasn't paying attention. "This is getting interesting…"

While Artemis and she fought, I moved the doctor towards the door, lifting her with my hair. While Kaldur was quite immune to poison, I wasn't, and the doctor sure wasn't either. I kept her wrapped so that she wouldn't get hit.

Aqualad stood back up and stood in front of us, his swords crossed. KF and MM came in quickly, ready for battle. The assassin took a step back. "Perhaps this is getting too interesting…" She threw a flash bomb but Wally jumped, attempting to snag her. The smoke cleared to show him hanging on Artemis. They quickly parted.

Roquette pulled my hair, suddenly trying to get out. I quickly unwrapped her as she complained. "She's getting away! You're letting her get away!"

"Our job is to protect you, not catch all of the bad guys! Be glad you're alive!" I snapped at her, my hair waving in my rage. She shut up and I turned to see KF and Artemis arguing about whose fault it was that the assassin had gotten inside. Miss Martian came to Artemis's defense.

"That's not really fair, I was outside too."

I stepped up, my hair folding itself around my neck. "You're just being a jerk because your friend doesn't want to play on the same team as you. Get over it!"

"Hey! That is not why! And babe," Wally said, easily returning his smile for M'gann, "You were outside…being distracted by her!"

Wally tried to justify his rage towards Artemis and I growled, throwing my hands up in the air. "Besides…I can't be mad at you…_"_

"_You gave me mouth to mouth."_

We all glared at him. _"We heard that!"_

"Dang it!" He said, gritting his teeth.

M'gann comforted Artemis, more or less, but Kaldur told us to focus. I crossed my arms, "Yeah, because that's all we have been doing this whole mission."

He looked at me seriously and I looked away before Robin called us. He told us how the FOG had already destroyed an entire building; a building that was full of high tech information. "What now?" He asked Kaldur.

Aqualad looked back to the doctor and instructed her to rescan for the FOG. "We're going to relocate the doctor.

* * *

"_Stop it, both of you."_

"_What?"_

"_I can hear you glaring."_

I chuckled, sitting beside the real doctor. Kaldur had decided to set up a decoy, having Miss Martian pose as Roquette, while I took her to another building close by until Aqualad returned. She looked at me but said nothing and continued to type. I folded my arms with no intention for apologizing for what I had said earlier. She called us brats but did nothing but complain like we weren't risking our lives to save hers.

A few minutes passed by when Kaldur called me on the communicator. "Angie they took the bait. I'm heading over now, but make sure to keep watch that the doctor is safe."

I nodded, growing my hair and surrounding the grounds with it. Roquette made a disgusted grunt before continuing her work. I looked back at her. Why was everybody insulting my powers today? "Just finish the virus."

"I don't need you telling me what to do; what are you, ten?" She snapped back, not taking her eyes off of the computer.

I turned to her, growling. "No, I'm a thirteen year old with broken rips, still trying to save your pathetic butt that got kidnapped in the first place."

I took her silence as another victory and Aqualad came into the store we were located in quickly. "Stop arguing and give her silence, Angie." He commanded, staying near the door for a moment before approaching us.

"Almost done!" Roquette said, typing quickly. Aqualad turned suddenly and my hair was shaking. A smoke bomb strolled up to us and began to smoke, and my hair checked out the area when Kaldur suddenly stepped forward, pushing me back.

"What the heck—" I turned to see him with three arrows in his chest. "Aqualad!"

"Let's test that jellyfish immunity, shall we?" The assassin jumped down from the ceiling and my hair attacked as Kaldur shook his head. She dodged most of the attacks but I got a couple of good hits in before she came in for close range attacks. She easily out maneuvered me and sent me to the ground. Aqualad countered her, fighting her towards the door until she kicked him down. His tattoos stopped glowing and his water fell limp. "There, limit tested."

I stared at Kaldur with wide eyes before looking up at the assassin. She looked at me, taking steps towards me. I wrapped the doctor in my hair again and she made no complaints. I brought the rest of my hair up, sending them quickly towards the girl. She was struck by most of them to no surprise; I was angry, and so was my hair. A strand scooped Kaldur up into its grasp while the rest once again shot over to the mystery attacker. She dodged some but most of them curved to where she was headed and smashed her to the ground. There was a beep beside me and Roquette screamed that the upload was complete.

"Someone is touchy touchy about her merman indeed. I'd take care of him before you try to take care of me…it looks like he needs it." She said, her voice silk. "I have no reason to kill you now, doctor…for the shadow may have need for your programming skills another day."

She took a step back before running out, and I made no motion to go after her. I let the doctor down, unwrapping my hair as I approached Kaldur. I shook him gently, unsure on what to say. He wasn't dead, but he had been knocked out. I sighed in relief when he opened his eyes. "You're alright."

He grunted, sitting up with my help, and looked around to see if the doctor was alright. She came over and helped me pick Kaldur up. My hair wrapped around his legs and arms to help, and we carried him outside to see Artemis. "Did…did you get the assassin?" Kaldur huffed out.

She looked to the side, shaking her head. "N…no. She got away."

"What? From you?" Kid Flash questioned as he zoomed to us. She silently walked from him and I sent him a glare to which he ignored. He bent down to the mask that was on the ground and picked it up, calling it a souvenir. Kaldur walked over to him, seeming better, and I let my hair go of him, and instead sent it over to Wally's face for a good flick on the forehead.

"Hey! What's your problem?" He asked, stomping over to me.

"You have been acting like Artemis is the bad guy this whole time!" I yelled, "I met both of those archers today, and Artemis was the good guy no matter how I looked at it. I don't care if you don't like her, or don't get along with her, as much or as well as you do with Red Arrow, but she at least deserves your respect as a fellow teammate!"

"Why are you so angry about this?" He countered, "What does it matter to you?"

"It matters to me a lot! Because now I can't help but think that you, Kaldur and Robin wouldn't have liked _me_ if I had happened to be an archer too!" I screamed, standing on my tip toes. He fell silent at that and I looked at Kaldur with the same glare. "You both didn't trust her at the beginning of this mission…she's the one who got there to help us first, both times we fell under attack. She at least deserves your thanks and appreciation."

No one said anything for a long while. Kaldur stared at me and I looked at him for a moment before looking towards Artemis.

"What she says is true." Kaldur admitted, stepping up, "Roquette is safe thanks in no small part to you. Welcome to the team."

M'gann touched her shoulder, excited that she had another 'earth sister' before she nudged Wally, who grunted a welcome.

Artemis stretched her hand out and they shook with straight faces. I walked up, leaning on her shoulder, now satisfied. "I told you it'd take a while."

She turned to me with a chuckle. "If it means I get to see you flick Mr. Clown here every so often in the face with your hair, I'm okay with it!"

Robin and Superboy returned with the bioship, and after we dropped Roquette into safe arms, we flew back home. I tried to escape, but Kaldur called me before I could get to my room. I turned, knowing that my yells were justified, but out of line. I held my arm as he approached me. "I believe I owe you an apology."

I looked up at him, surprised. He continued. "You were correct that we were unrighteous towards Artemis, and we needed that scolding. While some of your anger was misplaced towards Roquette, I am sure that your presence was most helpful to her and Artemis. I thank you for keeping them from feeling alone."

I looked at him with wide eyes. What was I supposed to say to that? He began to walk around me, but then stopped and cleared his throat.

"Oh, and also," He walked back up to me and pulled me into a hug, "I would never hate you, Angie."

He let go and left for the transporters, while I stood there in confusion. "…What just happened?"


	8. Chapter 8

I fiddled at my desk with a sigh. I stared at the thumb drive that I had never given to Robin. I needed to look at it; I needed to see what all of the stuff my father had written on it meant. What if dad had left some type of message on it for me? What if it said that Lae would turn into a blood thirsty hound on Friday? I couldn't keep avoiding it. What was there to be scared of, anyway? It was just a bunch of information.

I sighed again, opening up my recently acquired laptop and prepared to enter the thumb when an email appeared on my desk top. I blinked before clicking it; Batman had said that emails would be from only the Justice League with mission information and evaluations. But this email was from Jamie.

I paused, getting up to see what someone from the team would think, when I caught the subject line:

_Help us._

I sat back down and read closely.

_Angie, I don't have much time to explain, but we know about your powers. _

I stared at her words, a pit falling into my stomach. She did know something when she was talking to me last time…it wasn't just my imagination.

_We need your help. I am what you could call an intellectual genius. I had been working with Tommy on figuring out what was wrong with Victor and his emotional outbursts when he suddenly ran away, claiming that he would be back to kill Chad. Tommy finally told me what had happened with Chad two years ago. _

I noted not to doubt my intuition anymore; I had been right. There was something wrong with that group.

_Chad had been teasing Victor and his girlfriend that year. His girlfriend drowned around the same time and he blamed it on Chad, claiming that because of his bullying she had committed suicide. I looked at her records with Tommy, and came to the conclusion that it was an accidental death, but he has brainwashed himself into thinking otherwise. I fear that he is going after Chad tonight at the carnival, and although Tommy and I have the smarts, we barely have the strength. Will you help us find him, and save him from himself?_

I sat back, unsure on what to do. Of course I would go find Chad and help him, but what about these two? They managed to get through Justice League security…Batman would not be happy. Another email popped up from her and I opened it quickly.

_We don't know what you really do with your life, or what you're doing with the Justice League, but those three weeks were more than visiting family, right? We don't know who else to turn to, and Chad could die soon if we don't do something. Victor took the family gun._

I was out of my chair and was throwing everything around my room. Where was that little card Chad had given me with the flowers? He'd written his number on it; if I could find that, I could call him and stay with him to keep him safe.

After throwing my room into a mess I finally found it. I emailed Jamie back, asking for her number, and she replied instantly. I wrote it down on the other side of the card, threw my uniform into my backpack and headed out. I ran through the hallway and stopped as I neared the transporters. Batman was there, and his eyes narrowed as he saw me.

"Who is Jamie, and how did she access our systems?"

I stared at him in surprise before approaching him quickly. "She's a girl from my school. She told me she's a…genius, of sorts, and that one of my school mates is in danger. I swear I'll bring her in, but let me go help Chad before it's too late."

"You don't even know if she's telling the truth." He replied blatantly. I shook my head.

"No, I know." He raised an eyebrow and I continued, "I've seen Victor. I know that he really is unstable. I also know that there's more to the story than Victor simply being 'emotionally unbalanced.' I want to go, and work with them, to figure out what is really wrong with him."

When he didn't say anything, I continued in an attempt to persuade him.

"Think about it, though! What are the chances of Jamie figuring out about my powers? I've never heard of that happening…I'm missing something to this puzzle." I paused and looked at the card in my hand, "Batman, you always tell me to handle my own problems. I'm handling this one now."

"This is not just your problem, when fourteen year old kids are hacking into the Justice League main frame." He said in reply, "But I will allow you to further investigate. You will bring both Tommy and Jamie back to the Hall of Justice for the Justice League to examine. Red Tornado will await you there."

I nodded, thanking him, and jogged to the transporter.

* * *

"Hello?"

"H-hey Chad!" I tried to catch my breath as I stood at the edge of a carnival. The evening crowd had come in strong and I fit into the crowd.

"Is that you, babe?" He asked in surprise, "I didn't think you'd ever come to your senses!"

"Where are you right now?" I asked, stepping onto the fair ground, "I was hoping you'd be at the carnival…so that we could talk."

"I'm actually here, yeah! Where do you want to meet, doll? The tunnel of love?"

I agreed, not even bothering to fight his idiot character. "Yeah, let's meet there."

I hung up on him and called Jamie. "Did Victor say when he'd be coming for him?"

Jamie replied urgently; this wasn't a rouse. "He said he'd finish things tonight. I think he's going to show up at the carnival; it was this night two years ago that she drowned."

"Got it. I'll stay with him tonight and see if he comes around." I paused, "And Jamie…you know I'm going to have to bring you in."

"It's fine. I just don't want Victor to hurt anybody or himself." She said understandingly.

I put the phone in my pocket as I saw Chad waiting. I quickly ran up to him and he pulled me into a hug. "I'm so glad you're finally giving me a chance! And in the tunnel of love, no less!"

I pushed myself out of his grip and looked up at him. "Chad, you need to listen to me. You're in danger."

He laughed, raising his eyebrow. "Babe, what are you talking about? We're at the carnival!"

I pulled him into the line and hushed him. "I know I'm not making much sense to you, but you really aren't safe. Someone is after you; they want to hurt you!"

"'What are you talking about?" Chad asked, "Babe, I really like you but you can be plain weird sometimes."

I looked away in embarrassment, unsure on what to say. It was sweet, but he really didn't know that I was trying to save his life. Our boat came up and I pushed him in quickly. He became legitimately upset that I wasn't focusing on his confession, and instead was focusing on trying to save his life. "Angie! I don't want to go on this ride if you're not going to even pay attention to my words of endearment!"

"Chad, you're the one that's not listening to _me_!" I said, sitting closer to him, "You are in real danger, I don't know how else to tell you."

"Wait," He said, "In danger from who?"

I lowered my eyes and he sat up, leaning closer to me. "Are you just messing with me because Victor put you up to it?"

I shook my head, looking up at him. "I swear, I'm not, but—"

"So you just came here to talk to me about that loser." He said with a grunt. "Of course."

"No, that's not true!" I said, taking his hand, "I don't think of Victor as anyone special. I know that he blames you for his girlfriend's death two years ago."

Chad jumped at the topic and shoved me away. "You don't know anything!"

"It's alright, Chad!" I said, closing in on him, "I know you're innocent. That's why I'm here, trying to help you!"

"I don't need your help!" He growled, pushing me back again, "I can beat that kid to a pulp!"

"Stop riding your pride train and listen to me!"

"No!" I blinked as he sat up straight, "You listen to me! If you're not here to go on a date with me, we're done!"

We exited out of the tunnel and he jumped off as soon as we hit the curb. I got out quickly, trying to go after him through the crowd. "Chad! Wait, Chad!"

He was gone. I couldn't see him anywhere. I cursed before running to the closest bathroom. I changed into my uniform and grew my hair out long until it touched my lower back, and my bangs covered my eyebrows. I spread my wings and darted out of the bathroom. I jumped into the sky and searched for Chad; he had to be somewhere nearby.

Suddenly a gun fired. I watched as people ducked down and searched quickly. Victor had to be here.

I saw him, standing amongst multiple crouched people who were trying to crawl away. He held the gun above his head, a dark grin on his face. Chad was sitting in front of him, staring with wide eyes. "S-someone help! This guy is crazy!" The jock called, scooting back as Victor lowered the gun towards his face.

"This is what you get for killing my girl!" Victor yelled. I dove down and shoved Victor to the ground. We began to shuffle for the gun, and I wrapped my hair around his limbs to take advantage of the situation. I finally got the gun when someone hit the back of my head. I groaned, rolling off of Victor. I looked at my attacker dizzily and my eyes widened as I realized who it was.

"T…Tommy?" I asked in a whisper. Victor took the gun from my hand again and stood up, sighing as Tommy grinned down at me.

"It's about time you came out." Tommy said, "You just kept acting like you were a regular teenage girl, so we decided to smoke you out."

I looked at Victor as my head cleared. He chuckled, running his hand through his hair and pointing the gun down at me. "We'd been searching for you, waiting for you to pop up again after your dear daddy ran away. What were the chances of you showing up at _our_ school?"

"W-who are you?" I asked, standing up slowly. Victor shook his head and turned to point the gun at Chad. The crowd around us had long vanished, rushing away to safety, but Chad had been frozen in fear.

"Don't move, or your boyfriend gets it." Tommy said, walking up to me as he jiggled the bat in his hand. I looked at Chad, who stared at me with wide eyes.

"A-Angie…?" He whispered. I gritted my teeth; he was terrified, and he had every right to be. I was stuck powerless while they held the gun to his head. But I wouldn't let him know that; I wouldn't let him lose hope.

"It's alright, Chad." I said, raising my arms before looking at the brothers, "Tell me what you want with me; how do you know about my dad?"

Tommy began to toss the bat in the air, shaking his head as he chuckled with Victor. "We're not normal kids, just like you. I'm a genius—a real one—unlike that stupid Jamie girl, and Victor is a weapon specialist."

"Wait, what did you do to Jamie?" I asked, leaning forward. Victor shrugged.

"Once we got her to finish talking with you, we knocked her out and let her sleep." He grinned at his brother, "I do wish we could have stayed and watched her expression as she woke up, though. She'll feel like such an idiot!"

His brother agreed. "She thought that you were actually insane. What a joke! We're just doing as dad told us."

"Dad?" I asked, my eyebrows lowered.

"Yeah, our dad," Victor said, "James Caldoff."

My heart skipped a beat. These two worked with Cadmus. They were never after Chad, or anything like that; they were after me the whole time. I kept as calm as I could and raised my hands higher. "So you're his sons. You caused all of this pain and confusion for the sake of drawing me out? Sounds like you're just as crazy as your father is."

"Watch your mouth, little brat." Tommy said, punching my face. My hair naturally wrapped around my jaw bone, trying to ease the pain.

I spit out blood, still glaring at him. "Take me and do what you want, but keep Chad out of this, as well as the other civilians."

Chad looked between the siblings as they gazed down at him. Victor shrugged his gun towards him. "If you agree to shut up and not struggle, then fine. Get lost, little pest."

"Y-you…" Chad stuttered as he stood up on shaking legs, "But you…and Victoria…"

"That brat I called my girlfriend?" Victor asked, wiping his pistol, "I killed her just to make a scene. She was annoying, and so I got rid of her and made it look like a suicide. Had to make it convincing, so that you'd feel guilty about it. You were just as annoying."

Victor raised his gun at me and nodded it. "Now, let's go, Medusa."

I looked at Chad, who was still standing there. "I'll be alright Chad. Just go."

He looked at me with wide eyes before he closed his mouth and lowered his eyebrows. He tackled Victor to the ground and the gun slipped out of his hand. I shot out a strand of hair and picked it up quickly before throwing it as far as I could. As Victor threw Chad off, I kicked him in the side, sending him to the ground again. Tommy took a swing at me with the bat but I dropped to the ground and tripped him. Victor stood up, pulling another pistol from under his shirt and began to fire. My hair spread thickly as a shield so that he couldn't see where we were under the mass. We kept low as I pulled Chad to cover in one of the nearby rollercoaster's cars for cover.

"Chad," I said as I looked up, trying to think. "Calm down. I'm going to get you out of here."

"You're a superhero?" He asked, his voice shaking, "How long have you been a superhero?"

I ignored his questions and noticed the switch for the ride back on the platform as Victor repacked his gun with ammo and approached us with Tommy, "I'm going to need you to trust me."

I grabbed him into a hug as I shot my hair to flip the switch. The rollercoaster started to move up on the ramp and we jumped in, waiting to get to the top.

"Hold onto my waist!" I told him. He obliged quickly and my hair wrapped around us to ensure that he wouldn't drop. As we rose to the highest point, I jumped off of the car and flapped my wings. The wind underneath us picked us up and I flew quickly away from the carnival. I looked back to see Victor and Tommy thrashing in anger at the platform with police closing in on them. I was shaking, but I managed to sigh in relief. Chad was looking down, his mouth open but silent, as though he was trying not to scream. Suddenly my phone began to ring and I looked at the caller ID; it was Jamie. I answered quickly and she screamed into the phone to warn me about the brothers. I calmed her down and asked for her location. I met her on top of a bridge and I lowered Chad down the ground gently. He looked at me with wide eyes, and refused to let go of my hand. "A-Angie…"

I smiled at him before Jamie jumped on me with a hug. Tears ran down her face; she looked like a mess. "They had hit me in the back of the head and I woke up just a few moments ago. I tried to call you as fast as I could—oh Angie, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!"

I shook my head as we separated and smiled. "It's alright, Jamie. We saved Chad in the end, even if that wasn't what they had in mind. Besides, the police should have captured them by now. We're all safe." I turned to Chad, who was able to stand up, and took both of their hands in mine. My smile dropped as I got back to business.

"I'm going to need you two to listen to everything I say from here on out. The Justice League is going to have some questions for the both of you."

"The Justice League?" Chad asked with a gasp, "You mean like Superman and the whole gang?"

I rolled my eyes lightly before nodding. "Yeah, Chad. The whole gang. But you'll probably only meet Red Tornado."

We weren't far from the telephone booth transporter. We got there and I sent Jamie to the Hall of Justice first, and then Chad. I followed after them quickly.

They looked at me in confusion as I opened the door from the transporter. "You'll be safe here." I told them, turning to see Red Tornado waiting.

"I assume the mission went well, Angie?" He asked as he approached. I nodded, holding my hand out to Jamie to help her stand up. She nervously arose from her chair. "This must be Jamie."

"Yes, she is the one that managed to break through the Justice League main frame." She nodded silently, staring up at the robot. He looked down at her and nodded back.

"What of the Tommy character? This does not fit the profile of the boy you were to bring in."

"There was more to the story." I said, shaking my head, "Tommy worked for Cadmus, and tricked Jamie. The police should have gotten him and Victor by now."

Red nodded again. "I expect you to write a full report to Batman. I will bring Jamie and Chad in for questioning."

I nodded, looking at Chad and Jamie as they stood to follow Red. I smiled reassuringly. "You'll be fine. We're the good guys, remember?"

Chad stopped and ran over to me. He embraced me tightly before he pulled my chin up to plant a kiss on my lips. I turned red, covering my mouth as he ran back over to Jamie and Red Tornado. He looked over to me, his face just as red. "Thank you for saving my life, doll! I knew you were an amazing person from day one!"

I smiled, waving to them as they went further into the Hall of Justice. When the door closed, I fell to my knees. James Caldoff. He had more people working for him than I thought. I was in danger, and so were all of the people around me.

I wouldn't be returning to school; at least, not that one. And Chad and Jamie probably wouldn't either. Because of me, their lives were going to change forever.

I headed for the transporter but stopped. I wanted to fly, and clear my head a little. So I stepped out to through the entrance of the Hall of Justice and took a deep breath of fresh air.

I opened my eyes right in time to see Tommy running at me with his bat. I flew into the air, my heart skipping a beat. "How—what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in jail!"

"Are we now?" He asked.

I looked around in alarm. "We?"

It was too late. A gun shot rang in the air, and I screamed as the bullet pierced my arm. I flew, staggering back towards the Hall, but saw Victor standing in the way.

"We're a pair of a genius and a weapon's expert…you really think the police could stop us?"

I could hear Victor's gun click as he lifted it up at me again. "You're not getting away again. I could pierce your heart right now if I wanted to, so don't do anything I wouldn't do, Medusa."

I fell to the ground quickly, unable to keep my head straight. I looked at the two boys closing in, weapons in hand. I was panicking, and didn't know what to do. I closed my eyes shut as tears began to fall.

"L…leave me alone!" I whimpered, "Please!"

"Aw, she's begging!" Victor said with a laugh, "Let's teach her a little lesson before we bring her to dad."

"You like to beat anything with a pulse." Tommy said with a glare, "Shut up and let's just bring her in. Besides, we're not in the prime location to dawdle."

Victor glared back and looked down at me. "I guess it's your lucky day, then, Medusa."

"S...stop calling me that." I said, my head lowered. Their hands wrapped around my arms and I let out a screech as Victor squeezed my wound.

"Victor stop it! You'll bring the idiot league out!" Tommy yelled.

He didn't stop, He began to twist, and I made noises I didn't know I could even make. My whole body writhed in pain as I tried to get out of his grip. He stood there, glaring at his brother like I was a toy his was trying to take away. "Because of her I lost my favorite gun! She deserves a little pain in her life."

The two began to argue and I knew that I should have used the opportunity to run, but Victor's grip on my wound was tight, and I was beginning to see stars.

"Angie!"

I looked up, seeing Chad at the front of the Hall. My eyes focused on him in alarm; what was he doing out here?

"Chad, get back inside!" I screamed. Victor grunted, raising his gun to the teenage boy.

"You've been a thorn in my side since middle school. Tonight you'll learn your place…the cemetary!"

My scream was nothing compared to the sound of the bullet. Everything was slow motion, and I stared at the speeding death shot. My body began to shake violently, and my vision melted to a heavy yellow. The bullet turned yellow as well, and stopped in the middle of its course towards Chad's chest.

I blinked out the color in my visioni and took deep breaths as I came back to normal time. What the _heck_ had just happened? Tommy and Victor wanted to know too.

"The heck is this?" Victor yelled, pulling my head up to inspect my eyes.

"Since when does she have the power to turn things to stone?" Tommy asked.

They didn't get any answers. Red burst through the doors behind Chad and threw a tornado around me. The two flew into the sky until the tornado stopped, sending them harshly back down and they were knocked out the moment they hit the ground. Chad ran over to me with Red and helped me up. I stared at him, my hair dead at my sides. "H-how did you miss the shot?" I asked in confusion. He stared at me with just as much surprise on his face.

"You…you saved me again. Your eyes glowed yellow…and you turned the bullet to stone!"

My vision became blurry and I fell into his arms completely. He called out my name until I couldn't hear him anymore.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone! Sorry this is a few hours late! My friend's funeral was yesterday, so I was completely drained. I fell asleep early in the day. Anyway, enjoy this chapter! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Kita

* * *

"Oh Angie, I'm so glad you're safe." M'gann said, knitting her fingers together, "I'll make you a big dinner to celebrate your first solo mission!"

She walked out of the room and headed off to the kitchen, at which point Supey and Kid followed. Artemis patted my shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay too. We'd be short another girl if you were to suddenly vanish!" After receiving a small smile from my face, she left. Robin wasn't here, and was instead bonding with his Bat-buddy, and I was alright with that. If Robin stayed away for a little, then so did Batman. I don't think I could take seeing him right now. He'd get straight to business. And business was the last thing I wanted to do.

"You're lucky it was just a thick graze from the bullet. A little bit farther to the left and you may have lost your arm." I nodded, looking up at Kaldur in silence.

He was angry that I had not taken anyone with me on my personal mission two days ago. But I didn't understand his anger towards me; in the end the two Caldoff brothers were in prison, and Jamie and Chad were safe.

"All superheroes go solo every once in a while though, don't they?" I asked in a whisper. He shook his head.

"What you did was not a solo mission. It was a near suicide mission." He said, "If your friend, Chad, and Red Tornado had not stepped in, you could have been kidnapped, or worse. Someone your level does not have the strength to handle such complicated cases alone. We worried about you as we were on our own mission."

"But I didn't know that it'd be such a serious mission…" I said as I closed my eyes, feeling guilty. While I was out on my personal mission, the team had gone out on an unexpected mission. Tornado had told me when I woke up from the faint that no one was at the cave since they were all away.

I had wanted to talk to the team to see what had happened, but Batman requested that I stay with Jamie and Chad until the process was over. Chad had been clarified as a victim, and he was released into the witness protection agency. He insisted that we keep in touch, and that he'd text me often. It seemed that despite all of the things that had happened, he'd only become more smitten with me.

Jamie, on the other hand, was tested for a day to verify her claim to being a super genius. She passed with more than flying colors. Strangely, however, they let her go into the witness program after having her agree to move to another city with her family. The last I saw of her was her nervous smile as she walked through the door with men in black beside her.

I was, nevertheless, interrogated by Red Tornado as well. He began to question my abilities, and at the end, suggested that I come up with a name for my superhero identity, and a new name for my new school. It was no longer safe to use the name Angie in the fighting world. Correction: It wasn't safe to use the name Angie period.

"Are you in pain?" I opened my eyes to see Kaldur looking at me with worry.

I shook my head. "I'm okay." I rolled to my side and looked up at him in silence. He said nothing before taking my hand gently in his. He unwrapped the bandage on my arm and spread the potion into the wound. I kept my gaze on him as he eased the pain on my arm.

I wondered, did he feel this strife too when he first began fighting crime? Did he ever mess up, and was he ever confused and scared like I was? It was hard to see him being a blind idiot like me. No one could ever escape Kaldur's eyes; no one could ever fool him like they had me. Was I alone the fool?

"I saved his life, Kaldur." I said suddenly. The words wouldn't stop. "I saved his life, and he was so grateful. And a guy like Chad, who has an awful attitude problem and an even worse ego, still had it in his heart to try to save my life. But Tommy and Victor, who I thought were so innocent compared to someone like Chad, tried to kill us. They didn't care about our lives, or who we thought we were. I was tricked so easily."

Kaldur stopped spreading the potion on my wound when he saw the tears falling. I lifted my arm higher and shook it gently to tell him to carry on before I continued.

"I thought that superheroes would just save people, and that would be that. I always figured that the bad guys would be plain as day, and that they'd be wearing the scary masks. But there's always something unexpected in this business. And there's always something at risk. You school, your friends, your life, even your name…everything can be taken away in seconds if you don't make the right choices."

He began to bandage my arm. "I think you need some rest, Angie."

"I can't be Angie anymore." I said. He stopped and looked at me as I stared at him through tears. My eyes had never left his face. "At least, not in the real world. Red Tornado suggested that I even get a name change."

He finished wrapping my arm and I slowly sat up.

"All of these years I really hated my name. I always told my dad that I wished I had been named something else." I smiled, my lips trembling, "I've never wanted to be called Agathangelos so bad."

He wrapped his arms tight around me as I burst into thick tears. I couldn't speak anymore; I was so overwhelmed. I had lost Jamie; I had no idea where she was going, and I didn't know if I'd ever be able to speak to her again. Chad would never be able to get in contact with me, even though I wanted him to. To keep him safe I had to clear my name from his life. And I had missed a mission with the most important people in my life. Someone died on that mission, an important person; it could have been different if I'd been there. I wasn't any better than the others on the team, but maybe if I had been there, well, maybe I could have done something to change fate.

Kaldur smoothed my hair as he tried to comfort me. As I calmed down to a whimper, he finally spoke. "There will always be trials, but you will always have me. And you will always be the same, sweet and determined Angie in my eyes, no matter what happens."

I was silent. The knot in my throat was frozen, and I couldn't even squeak. I just held onto his shirt, shaking terribly. I shook my head violently but he never let go of me.

Once I calmed down he laid me back in bed. He announced gently that he had to go, and he turned to leave. "Kaldur, wait."

He turned and blinked as I held out my thumb drive. "Give this to Robin. Tell him to look at it whenever he gets the chance. It has Cadmus's information on it, from my father."

Lae jumped into my arms and I petted her silently after Kaldur nodded, taking the thumb drive. He left without another word and I was alone in the dark to think.

* * *

"_Override: Angie, now Medusa."_

"Medusa, huh? Not a bad name; I like it!" Robin walked up to me as I turned with Tornado. I gave a little smile, but it quickly disappeared. I didn't want to talk about it. I had found myself determined to prove the world wrong about Medusa's nasty behavior. I would change the world's perspective by taking her name up in battle.

"I take it you've looked at the thumb drive?" I asked, rubbing my injured arm. He nodded and a hologram appeared in front of us. All of the information from the thumb drive was there, but he had highlighted a couple of things.

"Cadmus made some modifications to your powers."

"Modifications?" I asked in confusion. He nodded and pointed to the highlighted areas.

"Even though your dad got you out of there when you were born, Cadmus still performed tests and experiments on you when you were in the womb. They brought out the traits they wanted out the most. They code named your experiment 'Medusa' since they were trying to recreate her through you."

What a coincidence.

"But wait," I said, holding up my hands, "My dad told me that Cadmus didn't know I even existed! Even Caldoff didn't realize it until he saw me with my father the night he ran away!"

"Well some of them knew." Robin said, turning off the hologram and turning to me, "Perhaps they never knew you made it."

"What do you mean, 'made it?'" I asked slowly, my eyebrows arched.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "It looks like you were just a trial run…they had never planned for you to be born."

I found myself shaking. Why hadn't my dad told me any of this? Why did I have to find out through a decoded flash drive?

The thought of my father stuck in my head. I looked at Robin. "Am I…does it say anything about who my father is?"

Robin smiled lightly. "Your dad is your real father, Angie. He acted as the sperm donor."

I sighed in relief. So my father hadn't completely lied to me. I was glad that I still had at least that to hold onto. Robin patted my shoulder. "The last information I got from these notes was that you were modeled after Medusa, thus the experiment Medusa, but they kept some of the human genes so that you could control when you could use your powers."

"So that's why I can retract my wings?" I asked. He nodded.

"That would also explain why the bullet you had turned to stone turned back into a normal bullet after a couple of minutes."

I blinked before narrowing my eyes at him. "You read my report about the mission, I see."

He grinned with a chuckle, "Hey! I'm a detective!"

I held my head as walked over to the closest chair. Robin quickly followed. "You okay?"

"Yeah…I'm just a little overwhelmed by all of that information." I said with a shrug as I rubbed my face. "Thanks for decoding it for me; it's good to know what was on that thumb drive."

He patted my back before we heard the teleporter announce Batman's arrival. We walked up and he called to us. "Get ready for a mission."

Robin looked over to me, and asked if I was going to go with my injury. I nodded. "I've got to stay on my feet and learn how to defend myself. I don't have time to worry about a scratch."

* * *

_Thwack._

I landed on my back and groaned before shaking my head and lashing my hair back out to the clay creature. It only laughed, letting the hair sink in. It began to pull me in and I grunted, trying to pull back. Robin cut my hair and I fell again as Clay Face swiped Robin to the ground. I cursed. Now it was just Kaldur and I.

I looked around to see what I could use to hit it since my hair was obviously failing. I saw some crates and picked them up, throwing them onto the creature. It laughed again and slipped through the cracks before forming in front of me. It swiped me and I hit the wall with my injured arm. Stars danced in my vision before everything went black. The next thing I knew we were back on the bioship. Everyone was still in the process of waking up, except for Kaldur who looked pensive. He noticed I was awake and explained that Batman had saved us. I sat in silence, angry by my failure in the mission, and turned to look out the window without another word.

We arrived at the cave and Batman told us to hit the showers. I gladly obliged as he requested to speak to Aqualad alone. I looked back at the two before making my way to my room. I turned the water on in the bath for Lae, and then turned the shower on for myself. I pulled the bandages off of my arm and looked at the little healing progress it had made with a sigh. Although Kaldur had made some impressive potions for my arm (even for scarring), it was still taking a while to heal. I suppose continually fighting bad guys and taking hits on a wound wasn't helping much either.

I stepped into the shower as Lae swam around in the bathtub. The water ran cool on my skin and I shivered in pleasure. I could feel all of the muck in my hair and I hated it. I washed my hair quickly, seeing that it was already long and getting longer by the minute, and then got out to cut it short again. Lae came out of the bathtub and rubbed herself dry on the carpet of the room while I changed. I rubbed some of the potion on my wound and wrapped it up again before heading to the kitchen to get something to eat.

I looked around, noting how quiet it was, before noticing Kaldur at the transporters. I walked up to him and patted his shoulder. "Heading home?"

He jumped at my touch before turning to see me, and gave a small sigh and smile. "Y-yes, I was about to return home."

I realized how awkward the conversation suddenly was; he was distant and avoidant of my eyes. I bent down jokingly, trying to meet his eyes, and he only looked away again.

I found myself growling, felt insulted. He wouldn't look me in the eye. I took a step back, giving him a sarcastic salute. "Well…have a nice trip!"

He finally looked at me with a pang of regret before nodding silently and making his way into the teleporter.

I walked back into the kitchen and grabbed and apple. I took two quick bites out of it before I realized I had lost my appetite. I returned to my room to get sleep.

* * *

"Angie, do you want to go do something?" M'gann called from outside my door. I threw my pillow over my head; how long had I been asleep? I peaked at the clock to see it was ten o'clock; I had sleep a solid twelve hours.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes before going to answer the door. M'gann's eyebrows lowered. "Are you just now waking up?"

I nodded, "It's summer and we don't have missions or training…why aren't you asleep?"

"I wanted to do something today! Like, go out somewhere!"

"Where?"

"I don't know! That's why I'm here! I wanted to know if you wanted to go anywhere."

I shrugged, letting her in as I went to the bathroom to let Lae in the water, "We could go to the beach again."

"But you have an injury!" M'gann said, shaking her head. "You'd be left out."

I shrugged again, sitting on the bed. "I'm sorry, M'gann. I'm just not really in the mood to do much right now. I think I'll just stay in."

She said nothing for a moment before sitting down beside me. "Are you alright? You seemed down the past few days, but I thought it was just because of the injury."

I looked at her with a sigh, shaking my head. "There's been a lot of stuff going on…Cadmus, Caldoff, Jamie and Chad…it's been stressful. I'm alright, I just need time."

I gave her the first real smile I had smiled since Jamie and Chad left me. It was nice for someone to ask if I was feeling alright; perhaps it was the spoiled side of me poking out again.

She smiled back, relieved, before giving me a hug. "Well if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here."

I nodded and gave her another smile before she left. I sighed as Lae jumped into my lap. "Oh Lae…what's going to happen to us?"

* * *

"Where is Kaldur?" I asked with a yawn as I plopped down beside Artemis on the couch. "I haven't seen him today."

It was five o'clock, nearly twenty four hours since I had last seen him. He always made a point to show up once a day, but that surely wasn't the case this time.

Artemis shrugged as she took a sip of her drink. "Not sure. All I know is that after him and Batman had that conversation, he was really off."

I felt a pang of guilt for having treated him so rudely before he left. I knew he wasn't feeling well, yet I had still been selfish and paid attention to only what I felt. After all that Kaldur had done for me, I hadn't given him one break. I hadn't even asked what was wrong.

I was an idiot.

I sighed and Artemis asked what was wrong. I looked at her with lowered eyebrows. "When do you think Kaldur will come back?"

She grinned, "Why? Do you miss him?"

I found myself turning a dark shade of pink. She questioned why I was blushing, and I questioned it myself. I found myself defending my reaction. "I'm worried! He's like an older brother to me!"

She shook her head before standing up. "Uh huh. Sure."

I grabbed my cheeks, eyes wide. What was wrong with me?

"Everyone suit up. You'll be going on a mission soon." Batman said, rounding the corner. I stood up and he looked at me. I didn't even try to escape; it was time to talk.

We covered what I had written in my report, and what Robin had found on the drive. As I looked down, he stared at me. "You did well for your first solo mission. You managed to capture both criminals and save both victims."

I looked to the side. "But at a price…Chad and Jamie have to start over somewhere completely new; I ruined their lives."

"You're over exaggerating." Batman said with a scoff, "They'll have to move and start over, but that is far from the end of the world."

I looked at him and frowned. "I have personal experience with that, and disagree."

He crossed his arms, "Do you? Are you saying you're upset that you came here?"

I found myself frozen in surprise.

"_Recognized: Aqualad." _

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I heard the words. I looked at Batman with a flushed face, who was still glaring down at me. "If you don't feel like you belong here, you should say so."

Aqualad approached us with an immediately concerned frown. "Angie, what is wrong?"

I found myself shaking my head quickly. "I-I do feel like I belong! Don't misunderstand!"

Batman grinned for a split second before turning towards Kaldur. "Then stop worrying about what will happen to them. They both volunteered to be relocated."

I blinked in surprise before smiling lightly. So it hadn't been a forced moves…I was glad.

"Made your decision?"

I looked up with a blink. Kaldur faced Batman with a serious gaze. Aqualad nodded. "The decision is made. I am here, one hundred percent."

He was making a choice. Immediately Tula came to my mind and I took a step towards him, but Batman interrupted my thoughts.

"You're just in time for the next mission. Medusa, go get your uniform on. The team will brief you on the way."

"Medusa?" Kaldur repeated in surprise as I nodded and turned to dress myself. The rest of the team approached and KF snidely told me to hurry. I paid no attention; my beating heart was all I could focus on.


	10. Chapter 10

Happy 10th chapter! :D I don't know why, but these chapters recently have been so much shorter than usual! D: But it's okay; that just means all of the romance and action is jam packed into eight pages! Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

We sat on the bioship with Kid Flash and Artemis arguing as usual. Robin was on his computer and M'gann and Superboy were patiently waiting. I, on the other hand, was anxiously waiting for the black haired maiden to arrive.

There was something wrong with Angie. I had hoped to protect her from the uglier side of the world, but I had failed. Horribly, might I add.

If only I had been more focused on my teammates, rather than a lost love; Angie was battling the, as they say, skeletons in her closet, while I was striving to leave her behind. She had even come to talk to me before I left, and I had just left her with a distracted goodbye; that would have been my last conversation with her. I was a fool, and now as a penalty she was so far from me.

"Sorry for the wait." I turned to see Angie boarding and she sat down with her eyes glued to the floor. She shuffled with a bag and placed it carelessly over her shoulder as she sat down beside Robin. M'gann glanced at me in silence before closing the door and heading off. Robin slid over to Angie and explained that we were heading over to Bialya, a desert far in the East. She nodded every once in a while, but seemed conflicted and distracted by something else.

I truly wished to speak with her, but with everything that had happened recently I felt that it would be wiser if I gave her space instead. She looked up at me for a moment and my heart leapt. She looked away and I stared, my eyebrows lowered. Was she still so angry at me? I made a mental note to apologize.

* * *

"A-I mean, Medusa," He paused as if uncomfortable to call me by my new superhero name. Kaldur seemed to dislike it…a lot. "You'll come with me. M'gann, patrol the central control area Robin and Artemis found earlier. Robin, see if there are any communications through radio, and Artemis and Kid I want you to investigate the surrounding area. Superboy, keep this area safe."

"Why do I have to go with _her_?" Kid complained before Artemis hit the back of his head.

"Pull your big boy pants on and come on." She said. He growled before picking her up. She looked at him with a returned snarled. "What do you think you are doing?"

"If you're coming with me, slowpoke, you're not gonna slow me down." He sped away, bickering until we couldn't hear him anymore.

The others went on their way and Kaldur turned to me. I looked down and fumbled with my bag. This was going to be awkward; I wanted to apologize to him for being so rude before he'd left for Atlantis, but as I mentioned before…I was really bad at apologizing.

I turned to the machine we had brought (which had still left me slightly confused with as to why we needed it) and Superboy before looking back to Kaldur for instructions.

"We are going to approach the target area after we get the clear from Miss Martian. Until then, we wait. We will patrol this area in a wide circle." I nodded again and rubbed my arm; it was becoming a reflex. He noticed and leaned forward. "I trust your arm is doing better?"

I looked at him and then at my arm, which I quickly let go of. "Y-yes…it is doing fine." He stared at me a little longer before sighing and walking away from the ship. I quietly followed. I knew that the longer I waited this out, the more awkward the mission would get, but I couldn't even bring myself to talk to him without stuttering.

"Medusa, keep down."

I found a pit in my stomach as he said my code name. Apparently I didn't like him calling me that either. I lowered myself to his side behind a rock as we saw a car driving across the desert. I looked up at him as he kept his hand on his lip. The car passed and his shoulders lowered. "We're clear. Let us proceed towards the area they were coming from."

I nodded as he stood up. He offered his hand to help me up and I took his hand hesitantly. We began to distance ourselves from the bioship in silence. I stared at his back, finding my eyes drawn to his caramel skin. He'd look back at me every so often and I'd drop my gaze, only to look up at him again.

"Medusa—" He turned to me, only to sigh.

I rubbed my wounded arm gently again. "I-It's okay if you call me Angie…I'm still not completely used to Medusa, anyway…"

He gave a weary grin before facing forward again. "Angie…I wanted to tell you that I was sorry. For the way I treated you when I was leaving for Atlantis. I know I seemed…distant."

I blinked in surprise. Why was he apologizing? I was the one that should have been apologizing!

"The truth is…I was not focused during missions recently because of my feelings towards Tula. I realized that I was needed here more."

I pulled his shoulder, eyes wide and eyebrows lowered. "You…you left Tula…for us?"

He looked away. "I…was not the one doing the leaving."

He took my hand off of his shoulder and continued walking. I quickly caught up and took his hand in mine. "Kaldur…I…I'm sorry that I treated you so rudely before you left. You had so much on your mind, and instead of being there for you like you had always been there for me…I just left you on your own."

"Angie…" I stared up at his green eyes for a moment that seemed to last forever. He finally spoke as a smile cast on his face. "I think we can make an honorable agreement."

I blinked. "I will not leave you again if you will not go on any more 'solo' missions. At least, not until you have completed a safe amount of training."

I nodded in silence, my cheeks ablaze. My heart was racing, and only continued to beat as I stared into his green orbs. Suddenly, his eyes left mine and he grabbed his head. I held his shoulders, panicking. "K-I mean, Aqualad? Aqualad, what's wrong?"

The question was shortly answered by a sting in my head. It turned into a migraine in seconds, and I fell down beside Kaldur. I could hear something…someone.

_Forget._

Kaldur looked at me with an open eye as he struggled to move towards me. "Angie!"

I stared at him with wide, pained eyes as I managed to take his hand in mine. "K-Kaldur…"

He closed his eyes and his hands fell limp.

_Forget._

"No…" I whispered. I was scared. If I forgot…would I forget Kaldur and everyone else? Would I forget all of these life lessons I was learning? Would I forget my father? Jamie, Chad? No. I didn't want to forget. "Kaldur…don't leave me!"

But the power only got stronger, and I closed my eyes against my will.

* * *

I woke up holding a dark skinned boy's hand. I let go quickly and stared at him in confusion as I sat up. "What the heck?" I felt sand under my hand and blinked, looking down to confirm the texture. I was in a desert…which made no sense, because Maine had no deserts. It was night time and the weather was slightly cool. But the question still remained…where _was_ I?

I grunted and looked down to see my arm bandaged in bloody dressings. What the heck happened? It had to have had to do with this guy.

He beside me moaned, and I shook his shoulder. When he didn't budge, I shook his shoulder harder. "Hey! Wake up!"

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at me with a dazed expression. "W…who are you?"

"I'm…Angie," I said, suspicious of him. He sat up with a groan. "My turn. Who are you, and where the heck did you bring me?"

"I am Aqualad…as for where we are…I am at a loss." He crossed his legs and wiped his forehead as he looked around and then back to me. "But we must have been here for quite some time, for I fear I am already unstable."

"Unstable?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, "Look, I don't care about you being 'unstable,' but I do care about you getting me back home! So…stable up!"

"I…cannot withstand too hot of temperatures for long amounts of time. I need…water." He explained as he struggled to stand up. When he fell forward, I attempted to catch him.

"W-whoa, hold on!" I felt the drag of something around my shoulder and looked down to see that there was a purse. "Maybe I have something here for you…let me check."

I opened the purse to see two large bottles of water. I flipped the cool bottle in my hand and noticed a tag reading _Kaldur_. I stared at it in confusion before shrugging. "How about this? I'll give you some nice water if you take me back home!" I turned to Aqualad with the bottle in hand only to see he was out for the count. I shook his shoulder but he only muttered something in another language. I had no idea what he said. I also had no idea what to do now that he was knocked out.

I noticed gills on his neck and thought back to my biology knowledge. Maybe pouring water around them would help him?

"First let's try letting him drink some water first." I said, unsure on the difference between an aquatic boy and a normal fish. I plopped his head onto my lap and gave him the water, which he gladly swallowed. He groaned more and continued to babble. Every time he spoke, he put an emphasis on the word 'Tula.' I wasn't sure what that was, but apparently it was important to him.

"Hey, are you feeling any better?" I asked him as he drank more water. By the time the water was half way gone, he was still unconscious. I looked in my purse to see if there was anything else, but there was only another bottle of water. I took a sip of the water myself before putting it back in the purse; I didn't know how long we'd be stuck out here. I glared down at the so called superhero. "I bet this is all your fault. If I didn't need you to get me home…"

I huffed before looking around only to see mounds and mounds of sand. There was nothing else there. I tried to think, but all I could remember was going to school like a normal middle school kid and chilling at the beach. I remembered that it was going to be my birthday soon. "I am so not turning thirteen in a desert." I grumbled, resting Aqualad's head on the sand before standing up to glance around. I walked a minute or two away to see if there was any sign of life before returning to the aquatic boy's side.

Suddenly I heard a car…or something like it. I looked around and saw a jeep flying towards us. I stood up and waved over to them, yelling at the top of my lungs. "Hey! Over here! Help us!"

There was a gun shot and I dropped to the ground, my eyes wide. Did they shoot at me? No…they must have been shooting to show that they saw me. I waved again, and when they began to shoot a lot more, and I saw the sand throw up beside me, I realized that I was very wrong; they had been shooting at me. I looked around for anything to use as a weapon as they neared us, but there was only sand. I covered Aqualad's body, shaking and unsure on what else to do when I felt a sudden tug on my hair. I looked towards the car to see black hair attacking the people inside the vehicle.

Here's the creepy part ladies and gents: it was my hair.

I let out a scream as I watched the hair toss the driver and shooter out of the car, break the weapons and pull the car towards me. My hair wrapped around Aqualad and dragged him to the car as I stared with wide eyes.

My curls had just mugged gunned men out of their car, and was now putting a superhero in the back seat of said mugged car. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be happy or not, but I got up and walked over to the car as well. I sat in the front seat, unsure on what to do. "I've never driven a car before…"

I could hear the men running towards us and I looked around in panic. "Oh no no no no no! What do I do? Why don't cars drive themselves—"

My hair suddenly grabbed the steering wheel and grabbed my feet. It shoved my right foot onto a pedal and we sped off with my screams clear as day. I finally calmed down at watched my hair in amazement as it steered us to safety. Since when did my hair do this? Had I been given super powers while I was knocked out? Were aliens experimenting on me?

The lock of hair around my foot suddenly threw my foot onto the break and halted the car to a stop, resulting in the smashing of my forehead into the steering wheel. I looked around when I heard someone scream Aqualad's name. I looked to my left to see a group of teenagers running towards me, one of them flying.

I recognized two of them; Kid Flash and Robin, but the other two were strangers to me. "Angie, too!" Kid Flash said as he reached me first with his fast speed. I stared at him with surprised eyes and he waved my confusion away before looking back at Kaldur.

"Is he doing alright?" Robin asked as he arrived on the scene. I stepped out of the car and my hair wrapped around all of their waists for a moment before letting go and digging into my purse. I stared in horror and amazement as it handed the water to Robin, who gave it to Kaldur. "You've kept him hydrated, but he needs more."

My hair went to grab the other bottle of water but I slapped it away. "No! We don't know how long we'll be out here! We're saving this one!"

It slunk back and returned to catering to Aqualad's needs. Robin grinned. "It seems like at least Angie's hair remembers Kaldur!"

I turned to the green girl and the blonde who were approaching me. "Who are you people, and how do you know my name?"

"You lost your memories, but we're all teammates here!" The alien said with a smile, "If you will allow me to enter your mind for a moment, I can return your memories!"

I blinked and stared at her. "Yeah…I'm pretty sure you're the alien that gave me these freak powers. I don't want you touching me."

The girl dressed in green looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Is this really what you were like six months ago? Talk about a brat!"

"Hey!" I hissed, "I am a twelve year old in a desert, thousands of miles away from home! I think I can be a little untrusting in this situation."

"But we're trying to tell you," The green girl said, "We're not strangers; we're your teammates."

Robin tapped my shoulder. He gave a smile. "Your hair greeted us, right? You can trust us; we're here to help."

I stared at the group and silently nodded as my cheeks brightened at Robins' touch. I knew he was a cool guy, and meeting him had confirmed it.

The green girl held her head in her hands and suddenly everything came back to me. My birthday party, moving to Metropolis, losing my father, meeting the team, crushing on Robin, going on missions, learning how to survive, coming to Bialya, staring at green eyes, making a promise, holding someone's hand in pain…

My eyes snapped open and I turned to look at the unconscious body in the back seat. I dove forward with wide eyes. "Kaldur! Kaldur are you alright? Wake up!"

Artemis pulled me back as Robin tried to calm me down. "He's dehydrated, but he'll be alright."

I pulled out my other bottle of water and rushed to his side again. "I packed these for him, thinking that he'd need it." I let him drink more of the water before looking at Miss Martian.

"Where is the bioship?" I asked quickly.

"It's out of range," She said, shaking her head.

"Then let's get in range until you can send it to us!" I said, nearly screaming, "Fly him until we get there! Kaldur needs help, now!"

"I can't!" She said, shaking her head. "He's too heavy, and besides, Superboy needs me! I have to find him."

"Superboy is indestructible," Kid Flash said, "Kaldur's the one who needs you right now."

Miss Martian hesitated before shaking her head. I looked at her with tear filled eyes. "M'gann!"

"No! Superboy is in pain!" She flew off with all of us yelling after her. I choked on my tears in anger before jumping into the front seat of the car. Robin, Artemis and Wally looked at me in surprise as I turned to them.

"Robin, do you have the bioship's location?"

"Yeah, it's a while away though."

"Then I guess we'll be in for a long ride." I said, facing forward. "Get in."

The three of them hopped on and my hair wrapped itself like it had before, sending us flying through the sandy mounds. Robin gave me directions and we found the ship in two hours. As we approached it, multiple men appeared from underneath the sand. I stepped out of the car, pulling my wings out and flying above them.

"Get _out _of the way." I lashed my hair out at them, knocking many of them together. I was shaking in anger; if they didn't move, Kaldur could die.

My vision went yellow again and I let out a loud scream. The men looked up at me and turned to stone. I let go of them and my vision returned to normal as I fell down. Kid caught me, although he stared at me with a surprised face. "What was _that_?"

I gave him a weary grin. "I'm going by Medusa for a reason…"

I pulled the team's attention to Kaldur, and with Kid Flash and Artemis's help we got Kaldur onto the ship. Robin pulled a UV pouch out and hooked Kaldur onto it as he lay down in the corner. Aqualad had been speaking in his daze, Tula's name coming up many times. I held his hand as I sat beside him. "Kaldur…"

He had really loved Tula. What had happened; had she left him? Betrayed him? I was worried that this had torn him more than being left out in the desert.

M'gann's voice suddenly rang in my head. _"I found Superboy! He's back to normal and we're on our way!"_

Kaldur sat up in a fright. "Who are you, and how did you get in my head?" I lowered him back down and he looked at me with a huff.

"It's alright, Kaldur." I said as I took his hand again before rolling my eyes towards the ceiling. _"M'gann, don't you think you're forgetting something?"_

"_Hello Meagan! Aqualad's memories!"_

I nodded with a sarcastic grin before looking back down at Aqualad. He stared at me with confusion. "You…you are the girl from the desert."

I gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I'm her."

"How do you know my name? My real name?" He asked, taking his hand from mine and sitting up again. I stared at him as my heart fell. Is this how he would treat me if I didn't know him? He seemed so different, so cautious of me.

Robin and Kid Flash came up to comfort him and I fell back in silence. I turned to Artemis, who was standing close. She brought her hand to my shoulder in silence, and I held it tightly. M'gann arrived with Superboy and soon enough Kaldur had his memories back. I stared at him as he looked around, calming down, until his eyes landed on me. He stood up and held his arms up to me. Robin tried to push him back down but he shook his head before looking back at me. "Angie."

I felt a knot in my throat as I stared back. I found myself running into his grip and holding tightly onto his back. I kept my tears inside, looking up with deep breaths. He didn't let go of me, as if he would hold me for all of time, and I thanked whoever was up in the sky for it.

I realized how much I loved the life I was living right now. I was surrounded by people who cared, and I couldn't find better friends. Although we had our ups and downs, we'd be there for each other, and never let each other go. After forgetting everyone and having Kaldur forget me, I realized that I would go through the pain a thousand times just to be with them for one day more.

He let out a sigh as he loosened his grip around my waist. "I left you alone even after our promise…I am sorry."

I shook my head as I pulled myself out of his grip, my hands on his shoulders. "Kaldur, I'm the sorry one. I treated you so horribly. I acted like the spoiled twelve year old girl I once was…I was just terrible!"

"Tell me about it." Artemis said before covering her mouth and apologizing. Kid grinned and nudged her side.

"Don't apologize, good one!"

I chuckled before looking back to Kaldur and realizing the position we were in. I turned red and backed out, smiling lightly. "I-I'm glad you're alright now, though."

"He's alright thanks to you." Robin said with a grin as he lifted up the bottle labeled with the aquatic boy's name. I turned redder, if even possible, as Kaldur looked at the bottle and then at me. "Someone managed to think ahead."

"W-well…we were going to the desert, and he's an Atlantian!" I protested before sitting down in the chair beside Kaldur. The team laughed and we headed home.

I smiled. Yes. Back to _our_ home.


	11. Chapter 11

Ugh you guys I am so unhappy about this chapter. The last chapter was crap, and now this one will be too. I just couldn't get it right like I wanted it, and I'm sorry that you had to wait for this chapter twice as long, only to get bad writing. Try to enjoy it, I suppose? D: Next chapter will be much better; I just couldn't get this one right.

* * *

"I made an extra sandwich if you'd like it, Angie!"

I shook my head with a yawn and headed towards my room as M'gann excitedly made lunches. Today was her and Superboy's first day of school.

I looked at her from the corner of my eye, still irked at her prioritized list of Superboy and then a dying Kaldur back in Bialya. "Maybe _Superboy_ will want the extra sandwich."

She frowned but said nothing else as I continued down the hall. I stepped into my room, greeted by Lae who raced to the bathroom and back to my feet. I turned on the bath for her and noted that she was now three times the size she used to be. "What am I going to do with you?" I asked with a sigh as she practically filled up the bathtub. I considered moving her permanently to the pool, but I would be so lonely at night without her.

I looked at the clock and quickly changed. It was almost time for my training. Hawkwoman had been pretty tough on me the few times we'd managed to train together, but ever since Tommy and Victor's attack, she'd been livid that I'd let them get the best of me. And so today began my intense training with her (as if she wasn't intense enough). But since I didn't have to go to school with M'gann and Supey, I was slightly alright with my fate.

I had been happy for the two as I noticed they'd grown closer together, but after M'gann had so selfishly thrown Kaldur's life to the side because Superboy was in a little pain, I'd been livid and could not forgive her. I couldn't let it go; I just couldn't.

I changed quickly and headed back to the mission area right as Hawkwoman arrived. She looked at me with her, as usual, serious glare. "I trust you've prepared yourself?"

I nodded and we headed out to the back entrance. We passed Superboy and his metal ball which had followed him home from Bialya on our way out, and I threw a wave in his direction before following Hawkwoman closely. "Have a good first day of school, Supey!" He nodded in return and I continued my flight. We arrived in the fresh air of the beach winds and she gave me no moment to soak it in; she came flying at me with her malice in motion.

I dodged a couple of the swings until she kicked me from behind. It knocked the wind out of me, sending me down quickly. I lifted myself up, coughing, and watched Hawkwoman fly down. "W-what are you doing? Attacking me so suddenly!"

"Teaching you a lesson." She said as she threw her mace to the ground before raising her fists. "You have strong hair to attack with, eyes that can turn people to stone and wings to fly away with, and yet on every mission so far, you have gotten injured. Today is when I will teach you how to truly fight. I shall play the devil's advocate today…and I will not spare you."

I stood up with a nervous frown. M'gann and Superboy ran past me as they went to school. Suddenly I didn't feel like arguing with M'gann anymore…I'd like school, actually!

* * *

I was sore and angry. So what, I had been beaten by Tommy and Victor? I was still really new at this whole fighting crime thing! Most of the people on the team had been in battle before. I didn't deserve such harsh training.

I laid down, feeling my damp hair on the back of my neck, and sighed as Lae jumped up to sit with me. She tilted her head questioningly and I shook my head. "Lae, Hawkwoman is trying to kill me."

I rolled over and hugged my pillow with a sigh. She did have a point, though. While I was struggling with every mission, everyone else on the team was able to come back with only a couple of scratches. Maybe she was right…maybe I needed to think more and act faster.

There was a knock on my door and I called for them to enter. Kaldur's head appeared and I shot up, only to close my eyes tight from the sudden rush of blood to my head. He paused, "My apology, Angie. Perhaps I should leave you be?"

I shook my head despite the dizzy spell and beckoned him forward. "What is it?"

He gave a small smile before he entered. "I was wondering if you would like to join me in a mission."

"A mission?" I asked, flipping my feet onto the floor, "What is it?"

"Red Arrow informed me that he needs assistance with a treaty between Northern Rhelasia and Southern Rhelasia."

"Oh." I said, crossing my arms, "Red Arrow needs help, huh?"

"The more the better." Kaldur said, highly aware of my distaste for the ginger, "If you do not wish to go, you are more than welcome to stay."

I sat in silence, staring at him with a scowl before huffing. "Fine. I'll come, but not for Red Arrow."

He flashed a smile and I looked away in silence before he chuckled. "I think you made the correct choice, for Hawkwoman instructed me to persuade you regardless of your answer."

My mouth dropped before I shook my head, screeching of her 'nerves' before stomping into the bathroom to change. "I'll be out in five minutes!" I screamed to him through the door, still obviously ticked. I'd go on this mission purely for the sake of getting some anger out. M'gann and Hawkwoman were on my list right now, and I could beat some people up to get rid of some of this steam.

Kaldur called from the other side of the door. "You, perhaps, should wear more casual clothes. Red Arrow insists that he has an idea."

Let's add Red to that list. Because we all know he's going to piss me off too.

* * *

"Look who tagged along."

I gave him a sarcastic chuckle before crossing my arms and leaning on my hip. "You mean like you used to tag along with Green Arrow, _Speedy_?"

We glared at each other before Kaldur stepped between us. "We are here, my friend. Let _us_ help you, since you called for it."

I didn't stop glaring until he did, and he turned to Kaldur smugly. I knew adding him to the list was a good idea. He explained the situation that Lex Luthor was the mediator for the treaty, and that there was an assassin after him. He also expressed that he didn't trust anything Lex said, but he was here for the peace.

"Lex is doing a good thing, though." I said with a raised eyebrow, "Why are you so bent on him being a bad guy right now? Isn't he the one that was threatened with death?"

"You don't know Lex Luthor like we do newbie." Red Arrow snapped before Kaldur tugged at his shoulder.

"Angie came here to help you, Red Arrow."

"I'd rather she not have come at all." He retorted before telling Kaldur to melt into the crowd. He left us and I looked down in frustration. Why was everybody being so mean to me today?

"Let us blend in." Kaldur said with a sigh, taking a step forward.

I looked around slowly following him despite being unsatisfied with the thought of following Red's orders. I stopped, pulling Kaldur's arm. "Wait!" I said before turning. I pointed to the girls with white painted faces and colorful gowns, passing out drinks to the guests. I looked at him with a grin and he blinked in confusion, unable to follow.

"What if I dress up as one of those girls, and go up on stage? The assassin will never know what's coming!" Also, the closer I was, the easier I could beat them to a pulp with the lessons I'd learn in training today. Perhaps if I won a battle on my own, Red Arrow and Hawkwoman would stop being so hard on me.

"That is a good idea." Kaldur smiled and patted my shoulder, "I see you are improving in both thought and battle, Angie. Use those strengths well."

I felt color rise in my cheeks in pride as I nodded with a smile. At least I had Kaldur on my side. I ran off to the girls to find another dress and got ready with the plan to show Red and Hawkwoman that I had what it took to be an independent superhero.

I had some of the girls paint my face with the white foundation and fix my hair so that I'd fit in. It was fairly quick, since they had to get back to serving, and I had to make my way to the stage. The girls all had wonderfully adorable accents which I enjoyed listening to.

I parted with the girls temporarily to let Aqualad know that I was going to get into position. I paused before pouring a cup for him and heading over. When I turned him around by his shoulder, he blinked in surprise. "Angie?"

I grinned and nodded, bowing. "Excuse me, sir, but I would like to inform you that I will be joining the ladies in serving tea, and have brought you a cup of our richest flavor."

He chuckled before taking the cup with thanks. "I thank you. Will you be joining the ladies in the tea ceremony?"

I blinked before grinning silently and shaking my head. "Unfortunately I lack the proper knowledge to help."

He chuckled again before pausing and staring at me. "You…look very nice in bright colors."

I'm glad my face was painted, because my cheeks flared. "T-thank you…"

I turned and joined the girls again in the back to help pass out the hot liquids. All of the girls returned to the tables to pass out the tea, but I stayed far for a moment to calm down. Why was I so easily moved by Kaldur's words?

A cup of tea spilled from my hand and onto a girl's foot. She let out a yelp before yelling at me. "What what you're doing, you fool!"

"I'm sorry!" I said with a yelp of my own before she wiped her foot down and walked away. I watched her in silence. There…was something wrong with her. Something was different about her, and it wasn't just her attitude.

I walked up to the stage and stood on the side, gazing out into the crowd. The assassin was the same girl that had attacked the scientist we'd been protecting a couple of weeks ago; her name was Cheshire. She was clever, and there was no doubt in the world that she was hiding in disguise somewhere in here right this second.

"Let us have a wonderful tea ceremony!" Lex suddenly suggested. The girl I had spilled tea on took the cart for the ceremony and started heading towards the stage. I could see her grinning, and I stared at her as she slowly approached.

What was it about her that I just couldn't put my finger on? She was different…but she looked the same as all the other girls…

One of the girls on the stage with me tapped my shoulder. "Excuse me, but it is time to go help with the tea ceremony. Please move back."

I smiled and nodded, stepping back as requested, before blinking. She hadn't had an accent. That was what rubbed me the wrong way.

"Kaldur, I think the assassin is the girl with the cart!" I whispered harshly. "It's Cheshire!"

I watched as Kaldur turned to view the girl before turning all the way. Her scowl told me I was correct. He pulled his water swords out and commanded her to stop. The delegates gasped and I looked over to see water from their cups flowing forward towards Aqualad. The dark haired assassin threw the cart in his direction and he immediately brought a wall of water around the tables and stage behind him. I stared in awe as the cart exploded, but everyone inside remained safe. "Whoa." I didn't know he could control such a large amount of water. His tattoos were glowing strongly, having ripped his jacket sleeves. He ripped the jacket off as he huffed. Even if he was able to do it, it had taken a lot out of him.

Red Arrow and I jumped from the stage and joined Aqualad, standing in front of the fallen assassin. Red pulled an arrow in his bow, aiming it down at her. "It's over, Cheshire."

She grinned as she stood up. "Mm, yes, you'd think so." A helicopter appeared behind her, outside of the broken windows, revealing Sportsmater and multiple henchmen behind him.

_Crap._

The delegate from Southern Rhelasia called for his men to attack the intruders. The intruders responded by jumping down from the helicopter and into the sanction. Red took a step forward as Cheshire flipped back, revealing her weapons with a grin. "Take Sportsmaster, Cheshire's _mine_."

Cheshire's grin only widened. "So territorial, and only our third date." He let loose an arrow and Aqualad jumped over the assassin's head, running towards Sportsmaster.

I, on the other hand, decided to handle some of the smaller prey. I jumped over some of the fallen rubble from the explosion and headed towards the stage to keep some protection for the delegates and Lex. Lex looked unusually calm, but I made no motion to jump to conclusions like _Red Arrow_. I fought off many of the men with ease, and tried to keep the Rhelasian security from getting too beaten up.

I kept the men away easily, and it continued until Red Arrow smashed the sprinklers with his arrows. I looked to Aqualad immediately and watched in amazement again as he brought the water to life. It flowed with the shape of a dragon, crushing all that were in its way. It headed for Sportsmaster, but Cheshire jumped in front of him and threw a bomb, returning the beat to simple water. As the smoke filled the room, I tore the dress until I could feel the back rip open and pulled my wings out. I jumped into the air to evaluate the situation when one of the lackies jumped from the smoke towards Lex. I whipped my hair, grabbing the man, only to have him blasted out of my grip by a powerful beam of energy. Everyone looked down to see that Mercy, who I had thought was Lex's secretary, was actually an android. Her arm, which had separated itself into pieces to reveal a gun, pieced itself together again. The delegates graciously thanked Lex for saving their lives, even though we superheroes had done most of the work.

We worked with the people to relocate everyone safely again, and moved everything to a lower floor. I sighed, looking down at my now constantly falling dress. I held it up on my chest and shook my head as I mentally saluted my uniform, which had been blown to smithereens when the bomb had gone off.

"You can keep the dress." One of the Rhelasian girls said with a giggle. She bowed slightly to me with a bright smile. "Thank you for saving our lives, and our people. We have avoided war once again, thanks to you."

I smiled, my cheeks bright with pride. Who cared what Hawkwoman and Red Arrow thought? I'd helped save this girl's world, and many others'. I parted with her to join Red Arrow and Aqualad, who had just walked outside.

As the doors open, I heard Kaldur speak. "I do not wish to tip him, or her, off."

I blinked, approaching them. They turned to me in alarm and looked away in silence as I stopped in front of them. "Tip who off?"

Kaldur kept his gaze off of me and answered. "It…is not of importance." Red Arrow looked at the Atlantian in silence before walking away. Kaldur called him back to discuss another topic.

"You could have called Green Arrow for help, but instead your first instinct was to call the cave."

Red sighed before walking back to Kaldur. "You are right. The team deserves—has—my respect. If you ever need help, I'm here."

They shook hands with smiles and I smiled lightly, although still horribly curious about what they had been talking about until I'd come outside.

Red Arrow left and Kaldur turned to me. His eyes widened in surprise before he approached me. "What happened to your clothes?"

I turned red, honestly having forgotten that my dress was literally falling off of my shoulders, and grinned nervously. "Ah ha…my uniform kind of blew up with Cheshire's bomb…and I tore this dress when I pulled out my wings."

He shook his head and sighed. "Perhaps we should stop somewhere to get you a jacket."

I shook my head, insuring that I would be fine until we got back to the cave. He, who had begun to walk, stopped and turned to me with a disproving glance. "I do not think you should be so willing to show your skin."

I blinked. Was he…angry? "Ah ha…sorry?" I said in confusion. He looked away with a sigh again before taking off his shirt. I turned red and looked down at the ground to hide my tinted skin before he handed me the shirt. I looked up in silence.

"Use this until we return to the cave." He commanded. I nodded lightly, grabbing the shirt and turning to go back into the building to throw on. I entered a stall in the bathroom and folded the dress until it rested on my hips as a skirt. I put on his shirt, noting that it smelled like the sea, and felt a bit scaly. I opened the stall door to see my reflection and sighed, shaking my head.

"This doesn't match at all…" But I didn't want Kaldur to give me that look again. It was…off putting, to say in the least. I walked out to meet him again and felt awkward to see him half naked. He was bringing a lot of attention to himself, but he stood calm and collected as always. He looked over to me, his arms crossed. I noted his abs. Very nice.

I turned red in response to my thoughts and shook my head. He raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"This doesn't match!" I blurted out in response, "I'm embarrassed…a-anyway, aren't you uncomfortable, or cold, without your shirt?"

"It can be very cold at the bottom of the ocean. Besides, my temperature is no matter right now." He smiled at me but before I could ask what he meant, he walked close to me. "You did a very good job tonight. You have certainly proven that you can fight your own battles."

I grinned up at him. "Does that mean that our agreement is now void? You know, me not going on solo missions and you not leaving me?" My grin disappeared as I realized how intense our agreement sounded. It was a little extreme for a teammate bond…

He shook his head. "Our agreement will never be void, so long as I am around." He turned and began to walk, leaving me in an exhausted confusion. He didn't…like me, like me, did he?

Did I like him?

"No no no no no no no." I said in a mumble as I walked after him, "That's silly. He's a brother, a brother!"

"Did you, perhaps, hit your head too hard during the fight? You are talking to yourself…" Kaldur called over his shoulder, "Should I carry you?"

I growled at his sense of humor and caught up to him. "I'm just fine, thank you!"

* * *

We returned through the transporters and found M'gann in the kitchen. She made eye contact with me and smiled nervously. "H-hi Angie! Did you go somewhere? What happened to your clothes?"

I looked away and folded my arms over my chest, not answering any of her questions. "Hey." I continued past her and made my way down the hall. Kaldur quickly caught up.

"Are you and M'gann alright?" He questioned.

I shrugged. "We're here."

He pulled my shoulder, causing me to stop, but I wouldn't look at him. "Angie, are you upset at her?"

I didn't say anything still, although I turned slightly towards him. "Angie, talk to me about it. I am the leader; perhaps I may be of assistance."

"There's nothing you can do about selfishness." I blurted out before looking back down. He stood in silence before me before taking hold of my shoulder again.

"What has she done?"

I hadn't wanted to talk to him about this. But it was coming out now and I couldn't stop it. "She just left you to die in Bialya, just because Superboy was in captivity. I can't forgive something like that…I just can't."

His eyes softened and his grip on my shoulder loosened. "Angie, I am fine."

"That's not the point!" I snapped, tearing my shoulder from his hand, "She knew you were on the verge of death, and yet she couldn't help us get to the bioship any faster because Superboy _needed_ her."

"M'gann is a Martian who has only been on earth for three months." He reminded me, "Her priorities do not always align with Earthlings. She is learning, and perhaps you should explain your frustration instead of taking it out on her. She does not understand your anger."

I shrugged in frustration and he lowered his head to make eye contact. "If you do not explain this to her, she may do something similar again. Would you want that?"

"No!" I shouted before holding my forehead, "Of course not…seeing you almost die was terrifying…"

He pulled me into a sideways hug before making his way to the transporters. "Then I wish you the best of luck in conversing with her."

I blinked as he left me alone in the hall. Well…he was leader of the team for a reason.

* * *

"M'gann, can I come in?"

"Sure!"

The door opened and I stepped in, holding my shoulder. "H-hey…I just…wanted to apologize for being so harsh on you. I know that you and Superboy are…close…but I was just so upset that you left Kaldur in such a state for Superboy."

"O-oh…this is sudden." M'gann said, obviously caught off guard about my apology. "Is this why you've been avoiding me?"

"I thought it'd be best if we cleared things up before another mission together." I said with a slight shrug as I sat down beside her. She nodded.

"I didn't think about it like that. It's just that…I could feel Superboy's pain and I couldn't bear it."

I nodded, now understanding. While Kaldur looked unwell to her, she could literally feel Superboy's pain. "So…we're good?" I asked.

She nodded. "Of course, Angie. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding…I didn't think of it from your perspective…Kaldur is precious to you, right?"

I blinked before smiling lightly. "Yeah, he is."

We hugged and as we separated, I asked about her first day of Earth school. She excitedly began to tell me about her joining the cheerleading team, and that she and Superboy were in the same classes. She pulled me up and commanded that we go make cookies and talk more, and I rolled my eyes, although still smiling.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey everybody…late again! D: I'm sorry, but it's because I have summer school (2 hour classes because college…fml) so it takes up a lot of my day, and I just want to sleep afterwards! I also have friends who I try to hang out with as much as possible (because I'll be in Japan for a year starting in September), so that takes up most of my free time!

I'm not making excuses, but am instead explaining to you why my past three chapters have been later than usual. I may move it to every four days so that I can relax a little, so I'll let you know by next chapter what I decide. In August you can positively expect at least one chapter every other day, but for now while I'm in school that may not be the case.

**AND** I'd just like to give a big whooping THANK YOU to all of you precious reviewers! There was suddenly a huge review count from last chapter, and I REALLY, REALLY loved them all! I was so happy that you took time to comment on something I thought was so crappy! SO THANK YOU! D':

Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

I didn't like him.

I simply admired his character. He was a gentleman, sweet and true, and any girl would swoon over a smile like that. He was more than fit, and more than attractive, but I didn't _like_ Kaldur; I merely appreciated his sense of honor. I aspired to be like him, to be a successful superhero and leader.

I took a deep breath as I hopped off the treadmill and wiped my face with the towel I had around my neck. The cave was quiet; Aqualad, Miss Martian and Superboy had gone on a mission, and Artemis, Robin and Wally were enjoying their normal lives. So today I was alone in the cave, which I honestly didn't mind too much. Truth be told, usually on days like this I'd be reminded of how isolated I'd become since having to drop my identity in the real world. In reality, I was stuck in this cave until we situated myself in a new individuality. I was lonely sometimes, but having friends on the team made things easier.

Today, though, I was alright with being alone because I needed to work. I had made a point to start research that could help me find my father, and I decided to take more time to spend with Lae, who was growing and becoming rowdy since she often couldn't leave the room.

I headed back to the room to see Lae chewing on a recently acquired bone. She barked a greeting before I called her over. She, realizing she'd be leaving the room, abandoned the bone and joined me outside in the hallway. I took her to the pool and let her jump in. She swam to the bottom and stayed down there, looking up at me in excitement. When she realized I wouldn't join her at the bottom of the pool, she swam back up to whimper. I scratched the back of my head. I hadn't considered the fact that she had been used to playing with an Atlantian who could breathe under water. "Sorry Lae, I can't play underwater!"

I looked around and found a ball, and proceeded to throw it across the pool for her to chase. She happily obliged and I smiled widely before looking at the papers I had brought with me to review. I sat down with a sigh, placing my feet in the water. My father could have gone anywhere, and I didn't know if he was even safe right now.

And so the only place I could think to start was with Cadmus. James Caldoff hadn't showed up since I'd been kidnaped, and his sons were locked away in jail. I could go interrogate them, but I wasn't Batman; I probably couldn't get anything out of them. I suppose it'd be worth a try, though…I'd go tomorrow. It was already late at night after all; visitation hours were long over.

I looked at the papers, focusing on the words. In the report from Cadmus, the Justice League had a lot of information, but not a lot on Caldoff. He wasn't important for what they were investigating, so it was simply listed that he was one of the scientists that had escaped.

So basically, all I knew was that Caldoff had two sons, information on my father, Lae and I, and was on the loose. Great start.

I sighed as Lae returned with the ball and placed it in my lap. I smiled, throwing it again as I placed my papers down beside me. I lay down and decided to relax for the night, since nothing could be done until tomorrow.

I heard the teleporter announce Superboy and Miss Martian's return and I went to the mission room after throwing the ball again for Lae. I grinned as I saw Conner's disguise as one of the Terror Twins. "How ya doin' darlin dear?" I asked in a southern accent.

He responded by ignoring me and looking at Red Tornado. "Can I change now?" Red Tornado gave him permission and he quickly made his way around me towards his room. I looked at M'gann, who was watching him leave with a smile.

"I take it the mission went well?" I asked, approaching her.

She grabbed her cheeks, which brightened. "C-can you tell?" I blinked before shaking my head with a chuckle. Apparently more than the mission went well.

I decided to let it go, since I had more important things on my mind besides the romances of the Martian and Superboy. "Well, I'm glad you came back safe. Did Aqualad return to Atlantis?"

She nodded, smiling. "He did, but he told me to inform you that he sends his apologies for not saying good night to you."

I shook my head, grunting. "W-why does he apologize, like I'd be angry about it or something?"

"Well," M'gann said slowly, "You did ask where he was."

I felt my cheeks turn pink and I shook my head. "W-well, the three of you left together, and only two returned!"

"Relax, Angie!" She said with a giggle, "Your secret is safe with me!"

I shook my head so much that I became dizzy. "It's not like that! He's a brother to me, a brother!"

"But you said that he was precious to you just a couple of days ago!" M'gann countered.

"Precious like a brother!" I said, waving my hands in front of me before smacking them onto my face. "Ugh…do I seem to like him or something?"

"Well…you do turn red whenever you talk to him." She said, scratching her cheek. I looked at her, holding my cheeks.

"T-that's because he embarrasses me a lot!" I said, "I don't like him though! We already told you guys, we see each other as siblings!"

She waved her hands and sighed, "Whatever you say, Angie. But you know…there'd be nothing wrong with it if you _did_ like like him…" With that she walked to her room and left me to be alone.

I sighed quietly before heading back to Lae, who was at the edge of the pool, whining for more attention. I threw the ball and pulled my bangs back. I didn't like him. I thought of him as a brother and nothing more.

_There'd be nothing wrong with it if you did like like him…_

So why was it so hard to get M'gann's words out of my mind?

* * *

"Hey Robin!" I greeted, having been waiting in the teleporter room for the boy wonder. He raised an eyebrow.

"Hello…any reason you're greeting me right as I'm coming in?"

"I wanted to see you as soon as possible!" I said with a hum as I walked up to him. "Wanna go on a little trip with me today?"

He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow again. "A little…trip?"

I tilted my head and took a step closer to him. "Yeah! You know, just trying to find a little more information about my father and Cadmus…and so I need to visit his sons!"

"Aren't his sons in prison—" He stopped and narrowed his eyes. "Oh…you're going to interrogate them."

I knitted my fingers together as my grin widened. "I'd love to have you in my company!"

"Why me?" He asked, leaning on his hip. "Why not take Aqualad?"

It was a question I had thought about before. Aqualad was out of the question; I didn't want him to get too involved in my problems, especially after he'd basically fixed the problem between M'gann and me. I wanted to do this without him, to become more independent. Besides, I couldn't take anymore one on one situations with him; at least, not while I was so confused. Robin was the best option, anyway. He'd know exactly how to get them to talk if I couldn't…which I probably wouldn't be able to.

"I don't want to bother him right now!" I said for simplicity's sake, "Besides, you're 'Batman Junior;' you know how to interrogate people better than the rest right?"

I prayed that brown nosing would help my case, and thankfully it did. He grinned, pulling back his bangs before giving me a flick of the wrist. "Well, I wouldn't say that…okay, I would."

"Then let's go!" I said with a grin, pulling his hand and dragging him over to the portal. Before he could say anything, we were in an alley way, five minutes from the juvenile center.

Having Robin with me made me a lot more confident. As we walked over, I described the two to Robin. "You already know this from the reports, I'm sure, but one is a super genius, and the other is a weapon's specialist."

Robin shrugged. "That stuff doesn't matter. When it comes to interrogating, what matters most is their personality."

"Their personality?" I repeated in confusion.

"Let's say the super genius, Tommy, is short tempered. But Victor the weapons specialist is shy and often feigns from eye contact. Which of the two would you go for first?" Robin asked.

I blinked, putting my hand on my chin. "I guess I'd go with Victor…he'd be easiest to crack, right?"

He buzzed me and crossed his arms, making an X. "Wrong! You go for Tommy, because once you tick him off, he won't shut up! If we threaten his brother, who we can assume he is close to since he works with him, he'd probably become livid, and therefore think less straight."

"But doesn't Tommy being a super genius count for anything?" I asked, leaning on my hip as he pulled the door open. "He'd be too smart for that."

"Jamie was a super genius too, don't forget." He said, "She didn't see through them, because she wanted to help her friends. When emotions are involved, smarts don't mean everything."

I puffed out a cheek, having had a chord struck by the topic of Jamie. I stomped inside. "Yeah, well, your example was wrong anyway. For starters, Tommy is the calm one and Victor is the short tempered."

I continued to stomp until I reached the front desk, and asked to see the two. The police officer stared at me like I was some fool. "Honey, are you sure you aren't looking for the high school down the street? This is a Juvenile Rehabilitation Center for the Exceeding. Whoever you're looking for, they're certainly not here."

I crossed my arms as I glared at him. "Excuse me; I'll have you know that we're here strictly on business!"

"We?" The police officer asked with a chuckle, "Maybe you're not looking for the high school…you're looking for help yourself."

I blinked and looked behind me to see that Robin had disappeared. I slapped my forehead as the police officer laughed behind the desk. I stepped outside to look for him and growled out his name. "Where the heck did you go?"

"I'm here on business. Let me see Tommy and Victor Caldoff in an interrogation room."

I turned, blinking, and saw him waiting at the desk while the man scrambled to find the keys. "Robin!"

He turned to me, grinning. "Did you really think we'd be able to get in here if we didn't have our uniforms on?" I rubbed the back of my neck before shrugging. He threw some things my way and advised me to put it on.

I looked at what I had caught. There was a turtle neck and white pants, and something else. "A mask?" He threw his thumb towards the bathroom.

"Go put it on. I put the cameras out for a while so that we could put our disguises on before going in."

I nodded, still confused by the mask, before heading over quickly. I returned to his side, and the police officer was waiting close by. His sarcastic attitude was long gone, and when he saw me he even raised his hand politely to show the way. "T-this way, Mrs. Superhero."

"Well aren't you kind." I said, biting back the sarcasm. He couldn't recognize me with the mask and different clothes, but I definitely knew who he was.

And so we followed him down the hall of criminals, going through many doors with many bad little kiddies behind electric doors. That didn't stop them from whistling at me.

"Hey babe, why don't you come in here and I'll give you a _real _shock!" One called, his body glowing yellow and allowing a spark to roll off his finger ask he winked. I rolled my eyes and continued walking at Robin's pace.

We arrived at the cell, and found Tommy and Victor inside. Victor was chewing on a toothpick, obviously irritated at something, while Tommy was playing solitaire. They both looked up and grinned, although obviously for different reasons.

"It seems we have a visitor…finally."

"Finally! I can't stand sitting around here with Tommy!"

I shook my head with a sigh before the officer led them with electric chains to the interrogation room. We followed behind, although I hated the minute filled with Tommy glancing over his shoulder to me.

He knew who I was, but he was just playing his cards carefully. Lucky for me, I had Robin.

The two were separated into different rooms, and Robin advised me to stay outside for a little before he went in himself. Tommy became 'upset' when the door closed. "The little girl's not going to join us? What a shame."

"Is there a reason you need to see her?" Robin asked, sitting down across from him. Tommy leaned back in his chair and grinned.

"No, of course not; she just reminds me of someone I used to know."

Robin ignored the fact that both of them knew who I was, and continued into the conversation. They began to have a sort of battle of wits, so I walked over to Victor's room to look at him through the window. He was irritated that no one was with him obviously; he chewed his gum obnoxiously and often spat as he did so. I cringed before he suddenly stood up and walked over to the mirrored glass. "Hey!"

I jumped as he hit the glass right in front of me. He couldn't see me, I knew that, but it was scary that he was standing in front of me like he could. He even stared into my eyes.

"Someone come entertain me, dang it! I've been waiting all day for some action, and now that it's here, you're just sitting outside? Come on!"

I turned away in silence to see the officer. He shook his head as he looked at the boy. "He's been really rowdy today, for whatever reason." When I didn't say anything in response, he left my side to return to the front desk. I looked back at Victor, who was now climbing the top of the table to see what view he had through the windows. I raised an eyebrow before Robin called me.

"He's gonna talk if you come in." He seemed upset as the door closed behind him.

"That's good!" I said before noticing his grim expression didn't change, "Isn't it?"

"He's hiding something." Robin explained, "He's way too willing. He never made any requests to see you, so why is he suddenly so eager to spill the beans now?"

"Maybe we just got lucky!" I said, shrugging as I headed towards the door, "Maybe you're really a good detective!"

I opened the door and Tommy looked at me with a wide grin. "Ah, how nice to see you again _Medusa_."

I sat down across from him and leaned forward. "Cut the chit chat. I want answers, and I want them now. Where is Caldoff?"

He crossed his arms and sighed. "You're so cold. After all of the memories we made together, all you can do is think about my _dad_? That's distasteful."

I leaned forward more. "Answer me, Tommy. You agreed to it with Robin."

He checked his watch before yawning. He pulled back his hair for a moment before looking towards the window. "Well, if it's our father's location that you want to know about, you'll find out alright…"

I opened my mouth to question what he meant, but when the wall suddenly caved in I figured it out on my own. I darted to the other side of the room, my back pressed against the mirror. It shattered as a helicopter flew close to the broken wall and offered Tommy an escape. I made a motion to follow, but the turtle neck I was wearing didn't have an opening; I couldn't open my wings to fly this way.

Robin jumped over the shattered glass to join me as the door opened, revealing James Caldoff with a wide grin. I glared at him, taking a step forward. "Caldoff!" He stood up in the opening and grinned at me. I could see the resemblance between him and Tommy.

"Hello, Angie! It has been quite a while! If I recall correctly, the last time I saw you I'd been knocked in the head by the little Superman clone!" His grin faded into rage. "That little mistake."

I took a step forward but the helicopter quickly moved away from the broken wall. There was a crash next door, and we heard Victor's war cries. We rushed over and saw him climbing up in excitement before grabbing the closest gun. He pointed it at Robin and me, and we immediately ducked. After multiple fires, Caldoff took the gun from him and scolded him. "You idiot, we don't actually want her dead!"

"Wouldn't it be easier that way?" Victor complained, "Or, at least, more fun?"

After a smack on the back of the head he shut up and the three looked at me. "Lucky for you, I'm only here to pick up my sons. Had I known you'd be here, I would have made different arrangements."

The door started to close, and Robin threw a batarang in the opening, only to be caught by Victor's hand. He threw it to the ground and James continued to close the door. "For now, let's say goodbye darling Angie."

"Caldoff, wait!" I screamed, rushing to the edge of the shattered building wall as they flew away. I gritted my teeth and rustled with the cloth touching my back. I span around to face Robin in anger. "Why did you have to give me a turtle neck?"

"Why didn't you use your powers?" He snapped back.

I glared at him for a moment before sighing, pulling up a chair that had fallen over and sitting on it. "…Sorry."

"It's okay." He said, already over it, "But what do you want to do now? Go after them?"

"It'll be too late by the time we find the appropriate transportation." I said, shaking my head as I leaned over to touch my forehead, "I guess we're simply back to the drawing board."

We returned to the cave empty handed, only to find Batman and Aqualad waiting. Kaldur approached me as Robin went to Batman.

"You went on a mission." He sounded upset.

"Yeah," I said, "And I used the buddy system, just like we promised!"

He stood in silence for a moment, almost glaring at me, before sighing. Before I could ask what was wrong, Batman spoke. "How did you let them escape so easily?"

"It wasn't a matter of how easy it was." I said, only to be cut off.

"From what Robin said, yes, it was." His eyes narrowed. "You could have turned them to stone, or simply lashed out with your hair, but you didn't. Has Hawkwoman taught you nothing?"

I felt my cheeks burn as I lowered my eyes to the ground. I hated it when he was right. I hated it even more when he rubbed salt in my wounds. "I…I didn't think about it—"

"We don't have time for people to not _think_." He said, walking around me and towards the transporter, "Because of your lack of thinking, two dangerous men are out in the world again. Think about _that_."

He was gone, but his words stood clear as day as though he were in my ear, repeating the lines to me. I didn't even want to look up at Robin and Kaldur, who were surely either judging me or pitying me. I twirled on my heals and ran to my room. I lay on my bed, Lae in my arms the moment she saw the hot tears pouring from my eyes. I stayed like that for a long while until there was a knock.

"Go away. I'm not in the mood to talk right now."

"Angie, let me in." Kaldur's voice was smooth and gentle, but it made me only angrier.

"I said go away! I'm not going to talk to anyone right now, and that includes you!" I snapped. He didn't reply for a while, and I thought he was gone when I heard something slide on the door.

"Then I shall await the moment when you are prepared to speak, here."

I stared at the door with wide eyes, guilt attacking my heart. I felt my lips tremble as I hugged Lae tighter and dug my face into her fur. "Why is he such an idiot?"

I kept my whimpers low, even though I knew he knew I was crying. I wept, trying to regain my thoughts and composure as Kaldur waited patiently outside my door.

...He was a really good friend.


	13. Chapter 13

I shivered, no longer able to moan from the blood loss. I lay on my side, staring blankly ahead. My featherless wings twitched, yearning to come back inside my body to regenerate, but I had no energy to help them.

I could hear Conner and Wally struggling below, trying to get out of whatever they'd be stuck in. I lay across the way from M'gann and Kaldur, who were stuck inside a fire formed cage. I tried to gather energy to pull my wings back in again, seeing them all in harm's way, but found it useless still.

And so I just stared towards my comrades, hoping that they would make it. I was once again in fate's hands because I didn't _think_.

The Cave was under attack. There were two robots…they looked similar to Red Tornado. I don't know who they were, but they were here, and they were here to do business. I'd been attacked the moment I entered from the transporters around four o'clock. I'd just come home from my first day of school; Batman finally placed me in a school in a small town off the coast, and it was named Jimmy Carter High. The town was quiet and peaceful, and no one really seemed too interested in me, so I was happy to attend. I'd been set on getting out of the cave after the incident with Tommy and Victor's escape. I realized that being there almost 24/7 was too much of the super hero world; I needed a normal life too.

And so I now went by Misty, Misty Turner. I moved here due to my parents working abroad, and was living with my 'uncle Brad.' I used the name the whole day and had been in a real funk while trying to get used to it. Even my name in the Justice League data base had changed; I was Misty Turner, AKA Medusa. It was unnerving, and so I returned to the cave with a grumpy expression.

When I came in, I had called out for Kaldur, only to begin coughing. I looked around and saw nothing but smoke. There was a fire somewhere, and I rushed forward towards the kitchen, thinking M'gann had been careless and left cookies in too long or something.

When a powerful blast of fire flew towards me, I realized that it wasn't the oven. Someone was here, and attacking. I made a sprint towards my room, Lae the first thing on my mind. I entered the room as a fiery figure chased me, and locked the door for what I'm sure would only be a few minutes. Lae had been at the door, howling for quite a while. I picked her in the bathtub and told her to stay, but she blatantly ignored the command and stayed close to my leg. As I threw off my shirt and spread my wings, the door broke down. I picked Lae up, thankful for my weight training so that the pick up was even possible, and dodged another fiery throw. I flew around her, heading for the pool. There was an exit in the pool, and if Lae could swim to it, she'd be safe.

We made it, my shoes having caught fire though, and I threw Lae in the water. I commanded her to swim, and thankfully she listened this time. "Bring help!"

I turned and held off the sweltering mime as best I could until I couldn't see Lae anymore. As I let out a slight sigh, my right wing was suddenly in pain. I turned to see it was lit with blazing flames and I screamed before diving into the water to tame the blaze. I came back up to find that the person was a woman—or at least a form of a woman. She looked like Red Tornado, only she could obviously control fire and was, as mentioned, designed after a feminine figure instead of male.

I only saw her for a second before she flew to the ceiling as I was suddenly washed out of the water. I gagged in the tide until I landed on my knees in the garage. I coughed up the water and gasped for air before standing up. So. Maybe she didn't control just fire.

The flaming android followed me to the garage and once again began to attack me. I dodged, unable to fly due to my singed wing, only to be distracted by the scream of my name.

"Angie!"

I looked to my left to see first Kid Flash and Conner locked in _something._ I looked up, noticing something bright, and saw M'gann unconscious in a cage of fire. I focused again on the attacker and tried to knock her off with my hair whipping at her, but they only sizzled and strained back. I became panicked as I realized that no one on the team had been able to defeat her, and that there was no way I could either. In that state, my vision turned yellow again, and I managed to actually freeze the android into stone. I stared at her with wide eyes, frozen in that fear for a moment when someone called my name again. I turned, seeing Kaldur fighting water against water. I blinked in confusion until I saw another android pulling waves of water towards Kaldur. This one was also like Red Tornado, and was male too. He could control water, though, and was fighting off Kaldur, who was attempting to push back the water in his defense. I took a step towards him, calling his name, only to feel a rush of heat behind me. I didn't even get to turn; my wings took the hit full force, and I fell in withering pain. I screamed as my feathers crinkled in the heat, and my skin burned. I jumped down into the water created by the aquatic battle across the way and my wings were cooled, although the pain had done anything but subdue.

I stayed in the water, feeling my tears leave my eyes as I found myself motionless. Strong arms quickly picked me up, however, and I cried for them to leave me in the water. I was gently placed on the ground and there was no answer from whoever it was. I kept my eyes close, unable to open them because of the pain.

The strong arms left me to lie on the ground, and as I heard a battle cry I cracked one open to see Kaldur, tattoos glowing as he lifted a large wall of water. The fire android quickly backed away, but the other broke through the water field easily and held Kaldur in his arms. The fire android approached and blew fire close to his face. I made as much noise as I could, literally only squeaking, as I lifted my head up as tears streamed down.

Kaldur cringed from the heat and the two carried him over towards Miss Martian. They threw him into the cage and he sat there, looking at M'gann before holding her head in his hands. I lowered my head and squeezed my eyes closed. The pain was surreal; it was worse than anything I had ever had. I'd been electrocuted, hit in the ribs by a superman strength-equal android, and even shot in the arm…but nothing, _nothing_ compared to the pain I was feeling right now.

I tried multiple times to get up, and as I did so, I kept a steady gaze on Kaldur. He stared at me right back, his eyebrows burrowed. And so I was left in the frozen state, lying on my side in silence. I finally closed my eyes, not blacking out, but hoping for a peace of mind.

"Don't close your eyes!"

I opened them in surprise, Kaldur still staring at me. He held panic in his face, and I felt my body shiver. I managed a nod and so I stared at him in silence again. I didn't want him to worry so much about me. I didn't want to be the cause of the panicked expression on his face. I had to stay alert and awake.

And so here I was, lying on the ground and staring blankly ahead. The androids had long left, attacking Robin and Artemis who we'd heard the teleporter announce. I moved my gaze to the water below, yearning for the cool touch again. I moaned voicelessly and found my arm twitching. I tried moving my arm, and it agreed with stress, but agreed nonetheless. I reached for the edge, bringing my other arm up and pulled with the little energy I had gained. I looked over the edge, the water being the only thing in my mind at this point. Kaldur, realizing what I wanted, called out to me.

"Angie, you cannot swim in your condition—"

I didn't care. I wanted anything that would help the pain. And so I slid myself over the edge and fell into the water. It stung a lot, but after a minute, it felt amazing on my injured wings. I made no motion to swim, and instead focused on trying to pull my wings in. I painfully managed to pull them in, but once again had no power to pull myself up for air. I struggled, panic growing in my chest when suddenly something came between my arms. I blinked, looking down to see Lae.

I gasped, and then began to choke on the water, having forgotten where I was. She, realizing that I needed air, lifted me up. I took a gulp of air before gasping, holding onto her. I looked down at her with wide eyes. "Lae!"

Everyone looked at me in surprise. I called out to Kaldur, who had been screaming my name. "I'm alright Kaldur!"

Superboy looked at me with panicked eyes. "Go help M'gann!"

I shook my head. "I-I can't! I don't have enough strength!"

"Yes you do!" He yelled at me. "Go help her now!"

I understood where he was coming from, and with that panicked quiver in his voice, I knew he meant no harm, but I really couldn't do anything. I stared at him with lowered eyebrows. "I'm sorry, Conner…but I can't move right now."

He stared at me for a moment, teeth gritting, before he let out a long yell. I looked around, trying to figure out what I could do to help. I looked down at Lae, who had begun to tug me. She lowered herself down into the water and then lifted her hand back up. She did this multiple times and I finally understood that she wanted me to follow.

"I…I'm going to get help!" I said, "I'm going to escape to the sea before the reds come back!"

Conner strongly insisted that I use my freedom to help M'gann, but I snapped back at him. "I told you, I'm useless right now. It's either I stay here and wait for death, or I go find help!"

I didn't listen anything else he said, and instead ducked down into the water, holding onto Lae's collar. She pulled me through the water quickly and by the time we finally reached the sea, I was blacking out from lack of oxygen. Lae had to pull me by my shirt to pull me up for air. Once I felt the break out of water, I took another deep breath and used Lae to rest on again. I petted her, smiling lightly. "Good…girl…"

I headed to the shore with her, no one around since it was now night time. I lay on the beach for a little trying to regain some strength, before I crawled into a sitting position to look around. There wasn't much, except for a swim gear store and a couple of bikes locked in. I got up, using Lae still to help me, and walked over. I ripped open the entrance to the rental store, far from apologetic at this point. I needed something with an engine to get me somewhere—anywhere—where I could find a superhero for help. There was a jet ski at the back of the store, and I whipped my hair out to pull it towards the front. I took a bag of candy and a bottle of water for the road, and pulled the jet ski out to the water. It did take a while, and luckily I got on right when the cops were coming around. I turned it on and zoomed away, Lae close beside me.

"Lae, we have to find someone." I said, ripping open the bag of candy and eating the chocolate. I felt tears swell in my eyes as I leaned forward, exhausted. "We _have_ to. Or else…M'gann may really die."

* * *

I was returning with a large amount of the Justice League. They had suggested I stay and have my wings looked at, but I refused to be treated until I found out if M'gann was alright or not.

I sat in my seat of Batman's jet, Lae in my lap. He made no motion to start a conversation, and I didn't mind it one bit. I needed to gain strength both physically and mentally.

I had left everyone…it was horrifying to think about. I know what I had done was right, but just thinking about Conner's reaction…if M'gann was dead…not only would it be a loss of a friend, but he'd probably never speak to me again. We weren't close, but we were still teammates.

We reached the cave, and Batman commanded me to stay in the garage with Hawkwoman until we got word that it was safe. The rest of them—Batman, Black Canary, Martian Man Hunter, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Flash and Captain Atom—went to investigate. I strongly disagreed until Hawkwoman told me to stay silent.

I sat down, rubbing Lae who was whimpering; she was tired. This was the most she had ever done on her own, and to say in the very least, she'd made me proud. I was promising her the juiciest steak she could ever dream of when Hawkwoman spoke up.

"How damaged are your wings?"

I looked away in silence for a moment. "…they are featherless." I looked at her to see her eyes widen in shock before I continued.

"Yeah, they got me in the back. I was stupid again, right? That's what you're going to say, right?" I stood up on shaky legs and groaned before looking at her again. "I had turned her to stone. I didn't think my spell would wear off so quickly, but it did. I was looking towards my comrade, who was losing his battle, and I was attacked from behind."

Her eyes narrowed. "Is this your excuse?"

I glared at her. "No, it's not. It's my _reason_!"

I shook my head as I let out a large noise. I wasn't sure what to call it, but it was far from a growl. "I'm so sick of you making me feel like _crap_ when you think I do something wrong! I understand that mistakes aren't alright, but shouldn't you just tell me to learn from them instead of making me feel like a piece of crap?"

I took a breath, huffing. Usually I could deal with Hawkwoman's harsh judgement of me, but not today. I was extremely injured and I was unsure if my friend was dead or not. I had no patience for her disapproval of something I thought was right.

"Aren't you supposed to build my confidence, to make me capable of fighting villains? So far, I've only felt more insecure about myself and my powers because all you do is point out what I've done wrong. I've saved my teammates _and_ a lot of people! Why is that never acknowledged? Even _Batman_ gives me more credit than you do!"

"Calm down, child." Hawkwoman said, taking a step towards me, "You're not thinking straight."

"No, I will not calm down!" I said, shaking. I still stared up at her with a glare. I hadn't realized it until now, but her and Batman were my adult figures I looked up to. I didn't like being treated like such a child by them; especially Hawkwoman. She always acted like I was a second rate superhero-wannabe.

"I will not be treated like such an idiot just because I don't do things the same way you do things! I'm my own person, and I'll do what I want. I chose to care about my friend more than my guard, and it produced a negative turn out, but without it I probably wouldn't have been able to get in touch with the league. Stop treating me like a complete fool; I've been here now for over three months, and I've almost lost my life, and my friends, multiple times. I'm ready to think about what is right and wrong on my own!"

With that, I turned and went to find out if M'gann was alright. I wasn't waiting on Batman's order anymore. Hawkwoman said nothing, but she walked beside me and rested my hand on her arm. I glared up at her. "What are you doing?"

"Helping a fellow superhero," she said, stone faced as usual. Then she suddenly cracked a grin. "Congrats on finally earning the title. I always thought you were a weakling because you never fought back with me. You're finding your way, slowly but surely."

I blushed lightly before falling to the ground. She raised an eyebrow. "Although I must admit, that really was a rather random break down, child."

I laughed lightly, shrugging. "I am injured and tired…and Batman scolded me a couple of days ago, so I guess you sent me over the edge."

She ended up carrying me inside, letting me know that we had gotten the okay to come in while I was ranting to her. We came in to see everyone in a group. I shifted myself out of Hawkwoman's grip and stumbled forward.

M'gann was alright, sitting down and talking to her uncle with a smile. I fell to my knees in front of her, and brought her into a hug. I felt myself shaking as I separated. "You're alright! Thank god!"

She nodded, smiling. "Yeah, Artemis shut down the reds in time! They got away though."

"I could care less if they got away!" I said, pulling her in for another hug. "I'm just glad you're alive!"

A hand touched my shoulder and I looked up to see Kaldur. He gave me a smile and helped me up so that we could embrace. "You are alright. I had feared for the worst when your voice suddenly disappeared from conversation."

He had been out of sight when I'd been in the water; the last words I had said to him were that I was alright, and then I escaped underwater with Lae. I smiled, continuing to lean on him as I explained what had happened. He nodded, calming down as he learned that I had gone to get help. He bent down to Lae, who was rubbing herself on his leg. "You did well, both of you."

"What happened exactly to the reds?" I questioned now that my priorities had been taking care of. Artemis explained that Red Tornado had showed up, and suddenly disappeared with the other two.

Batman declared that that was enough for the night, and instructed everyone to return home. As for me, he instructed Hawkwoman to take me to see someone who knew how to heal wing wounds.

She obliged, and after giving farewells to the team, we made our way back towards the entry way. Lae followed us, and I petted her to calm her down, and Aqualad offered to take her to Atlantis for the evening. I thanked him, and looked up at him with a smile. "I never told you this, but after you helped me the other night, I was really happy to be friends with you. I can always count on you to be there for me…so thanks."

He smiled, nodding as he rested his hand on his chest. "The pleasure of being friends is all mine, Angie."

He paused, giving me another quick hug, "Rest well, and come back soon."

I smiled and departed with Hawkwoman quickly.

* * *

"Hey everybody!" My feet touched the ground and I grinned widely as I spread my wings wide. They were completely recovered overnight!

"Your wings look amazing!" Miss Martian commented as we walked up to each other. Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"How did they heal so quickly?"

"Hawkwoman and Hawkman know a lot about healing wings and whatnot, and they made a concoction to help speed the process of my wings regenerating feathers. They had a lot of stuff that helped me heal overnight. I'm not even soar; it's amazing!"

M'gann showed me to a table, where Wally and Robin were sitting down. They were trying to get out of Green Arrow some 'answers' about last night, and what the heck was going on with Red Tornado. I sat beside M'gann and watched them go. I was curious as well, but to be honest I was just happy that none of us had died.

"You _knew_?" Superboy was suddenly on top of Kaldur, grabbing his shirt in rage, "That robot and his maniac family could have killed M'gann!"

"Conner, what are you doing?" M'gann asked in alarm, flying over.

I joined her quickly, grabbing his arm. "Let go of him!"

"Kaldur knew there was a traitor among us and said nothing!" He yelled, glaring at me. I let go, my eyes wide, and looked at Kaldur.

"W…what?"

"You knew?" Robin asked with a furious tone.

"And you didn't _tell_ us?" Kid added, a growl in his words.

"I sought to protect the team." Kaldur said, his gaze steady with Superboy.

"Protect us with what? Knowledge that might have saved our lives?"

I stared at Kaldur, none of their words reaching my ears. I only stared at Kaldur, my heart aching. Everything started to match up. The talk him and Red Arrow had had before I showed up; this was what they were talking about.

And he had tried to keep it away from me, even though I had been there with him. He didn't trust me.

Did he think _I _was the mole?

Batman decided it had gone far enough, and said so. Everyone turned and walked to him in silence, but I stood there, staring at the ground. I honestly felt like crying. I felt so betrayed.

_The pleasure of being friends is all mine, Angie._

Bull crap it was.

"Care to join us, Medusa?"

I looked up to see the team staring at me from the side before I slowly made my way over. I glanced at Kaldur, who looked at me with lowered eyebrows. I looked away and said nothing, and held my wings around my body in silence. "…sorry."

Batman began to explain that the Justice League would be taking shifts in supervising us, but I paid it no mind. I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that I had literally asked him about this, and he had lied to my face.

I only tried paying attention when he decided he'd send us on another mission, instead of going after Red Tornado. We were chasing down some gorilla, and it didn't sit well with Robin or Wally.

After Batman once again shut them up, the discussion was over and everyone headed over to the bioship. I, however, needed to go to my room to grab my uniform and change. I entered the room and Lae was there. I petted her when she jumped up on my legs and I gave a small smile before I bent down to hug her. She sat down, realizing something was wrong, and let me cry a few silent tears.

I was so angry, but the most frustrating part was that I couldn't even say anything to him, even if I wanted to. And I really, really wanted to.

I was as confused as I was angry. His actions and his thought process didn't match up; why would he be so caring for me if he didn't trust me? Did he see me as a dumb little sister, who he could lie to?

I wiped my face and changed before kissing Lae's head and walking out to get on the Bioship. Captain Marvel was on board as well, I noticed, and so M'gann had to make another seat for me. Thankfully it was on the opposite side of the ship, far from Kaldur.

I shook my head as we departed in near silence (Captain Marvel was chatting up a storm with himself). It was going to be a long mission.


	14. Chapter 14

Get this you guys: I was ready to give this to you last night! But then the evil dorm lost all internet connection! D:

Anyway, here it is! The next chapter is going to be my absolute favorite episode to write. I am absolutely stoked. I look forward to seeing you next chapter!

* * *

"I'll go scan the area." I flew away before he could say anything to me. I was scared to be with him and the team, and I especially didn't want to be alone with the aquatic male.

He had lied to me. Kaldur, the kindest—and most honest—person I'd ever met had lied to me. I couldn't look him in the eye, not anymore.

Strangely enough, I wasn't angry at him. I was upset and unsure on what to do more than anything else. And I knew that I should have stayed there, tried to talk it out, but I felt so betrayed. I needed to clear my head before I even thought of talking to him about this.

I had been only about a mile away when something suddenly slammed down on my back. I looked up, seeing multiple geese swarming me.

Now, normally this wouldn't be such a big deal. I could swat them away and it would be done with, but here's the catch: each one was about triple the size of a normal goose.

They pulled my hair and weighed me down quickly. I fell down fast, unable to do anything as they had my hair in their mouths, and were weighing down on my wings. I finally managed to grab some feathers off of the closest goose to my hand, and pull myself above it. It flew up instantly, not wanting to fall to the ground, and I held on tight as it rolled around, trying to get me off of its back. I found safety as I gripped onto something on its neck. I looked to see it was some sort of collar. I questioned it, but was happy it was there so that I didn't fall.

The geese began to attack me again. I fell off the back of the goose and brought the collar with me. As it fell off of the goose, it quickly lost interest in me and flew away. I blinked, ripping off the collars of the geese that got near me.

Once the collars were off, the battle was over. They flew away, as if they had nothing to do with the multiple bruises on my back. I sighed as I landed in a tree. As I checked over myself, suddenly Miss Martian's voice rang in my head. _"Link established."_

"_Should he really still be giving us orders?" _Artemis chimed in with sarcasm,_ "And should you be following them?" _

"_Listen, please." _Kaldur pleaded. I felt a tug on my heart strings. I squeezed my arm and sat in silence.

"_Oh good Aqualad's voice in my head; I so missed that!" _Kid said with just about the same amount of aggression of Artemis.

"_Hey Kaldur! KF and I were attacked by giant vultures. But since we're moles, you probably think we attacked ourselves." _Robin said. My grip grew stronger until I realized I was bruising myself just as much as the geese had.

"_If he did think so, he wouldn't tell you." _Artemis insisted with a snarl.

M'gann sighed. _"Superboy, are you online or just pouting?"_

I wasn't sure exactly what had happened between the two of them, but they were kind of…arguing.

"_Busy" _He grunted,_ "Call back later."_

The conversation returned to Aqualad, and the aggression continued. I found my tongue, and spoke up. I didn't care if I felt betrayed about his secret. What I did care about was the team being so vicious towards Kaldur. _"You guys, don't you think—"_

"_Enough."_

We all became silent as Kaldur spoke.

"ENOUGH!" I jumped as I heard his scream from a mile away. I flew towards his voice as he continued through telepathy. _"Captain Marvel has been captured, and we must act as a team to save him."_

"_Ha." _KF laughed, _"Under your leadership? I don't think so—"_

"_**This**__ is not up for debate." _Aqualad said, shutting KF's mocking mouth up,_ "You all chose me to lead this team. When the mission is over and you would like to select a new leader, I will __**happily **__step down."_

I saw him now, and perched on a nearby tree, leaning in silently. He was holding some contraption…what it was I was unsure, but I could tell he had ripped it out of the ground himself. Probably in anger.

"_But until that time, I __**am **__in command here." _He threw the metal to the ground and began to walk away.

Yup. Definitely in anger.

I flew from tree to tree, staying close behind him and out of sight. I didn't know what to say. I could see how upset he was with every stride he took, and I wanted to give him a hug, but was honestly scared too. I had never seen him angry before, and didn't know if I could do anything to change that. And so I continued to watch him from afar until he abruptly stopped. His shoulders shrugged and he sighed.

"Angie, I am not angry anymore. You may come out."

I jumped, staring at him in silence still. I looked at him, shrinking behind the tree trunk even though it was clear he knew I was there. I was frozen.

He turned and looked into my eyes, and I defrosted quickly. His eyebrows were lowered and he held a small smile on his lips. He held his hand up after a moment. "Please, come down here."

I frowned, and silently glided down onto the ground. I held onto my arm as I walked up to him, staring at the ground. He said nothing, and simply stood in front of me, his gaze heavy. I looked up at him, caught his eye, and then dropped my eyes back to the ground again. "…are you mad?"

"No." He replied simply. "Are you scared?"

"No!" I looked up at him with wide eyes before calming down and looking away, "I…am worried."

"Do you, too, doubt my judgment on hiding this information from the team?" He asked as he began to walk forward again.

I followed him, removing my hand from my arm to my other hand. I crossed my wings over my body so that only my face showed. I felt my feathers brush upon my cheeks and it calmed me down. "I'm not angry, and I'm not scared. I feel…betrayed."

He stopped and looked at me with lowered eyebrows. I kept my distance now, also stopping. "You lied to me. When I asked what you and Red Arrow had been talking about, it was about the mole, wasn't it?"

He looked away and slowly nodded. "I sought to protect you and the team from this information to prevent suspicions arising amongst teammates. I did not mean to hurt you."

I nodded, now a little more understanding, but still upset. "What if I had done this to you?"

"You are not me," He said immediately, "You would have told me."

I, startled, took a step back. "…and how do you know that?"

He smiled that smile of his. "Because I know you."

My face was ablaze and I covered it. My wings followed suit and wrapped my body from head to toe. Kaldur let out a grunt of surprise. "Angie?"

Yes, it was this. It was because of this obvious care for me that I was so upset. He expected people to depend on him, yet he himself was so independent. He didn't lean on anyone, and took all the pain for the sake of the team. It was terrifying as I realized that no matter what I did, he could, and would, always go on his own. I couldn't deal with it; it hurt too much. If he did something like this again, I wouldn't be able to get over it; I'd feel betrayed all over again.

"G-give me a minute please." I muttered from inside my feathery force field. He remained silent and waited until I lowered my wings to gaze at him. I frowned deeply, staring at him. "Maybe…maybe this is why I am so upset."

He raised an eyebrow and I walked forward. He followed. "You know me; you've learned things about me. You know that I'm still slightly spoiled, that I'm easy to anger, and that I'm a little too touchy."

I fluttered my wings before continuing with a sigh, "I've learned some things about you, too. I know that you're responsible, you're calm and collected, and you truly care about the team. I thought I'd gotten to know you pretty well."

I smiled towards the sky and he smiled slightly. "But I don't."

I turned to look at him over my shoulder, my eyebrows lowered as his smile quickly disappeared and was replaced with a frown. "You're always thinking ahead, and you're always looking out for everyone. It shouldn't have been a surprise that you'd do something like this for our sake…but it was."

I folded my arms and turned to him all the way. He could tell I was upset, and he came forward, resting his hand on my shoulder. "It is alright that you did not foresee my actions, Angie. You have had more to focus on than me."

I took his hand off of my shoulder and squeezed it tightly as I shook my head. "We both know that's not true…you've had almost more than you can handle. I'm just a thirteen year old that grew up too spoiled."

I let go of his hand and started to walk again. If he was going to say anything else, he didn't have the chance to. M'gann called out to us, leading the rest of the team towards us.

We faced Kaldur together in silence and he stared at me for another moment before sighing. "…We need to find Captain Marvel. Let us begin the search. Medusa and Miss Martian will search from above while the rest of us cover from the ground. Move out."

I stared at his back, my eyes narrowed in silence for a moment before I took to the sky.

This was the man I had gotten to know. This was the man that I had slowly come to care deeply about. This was Kaldur. This was the man I should have never come to like.

* * *

We were all along the top of a hill, looking down to see a force field around a base I'd found while scouting. In order to get in, Artemis had to shoot a button while Kaldur was pulling the electric field apart for a good shot. The plan went flawlessly and we headed in when a monkey suddenly began to screech. A large amount of monkeys came to attack us and everyone spread out, ready to fight.

The monkeys attacked, and my hair easily kept them at a distance. I flew into the air, letting my hair keep at the ground work. My strands quickly removed the collars from the mammals and they ran away. I continued to fight, and Kaldur instructed everyone to follow suit and take the collars off. We'd run through these small fry in no time.

That's when a giant ape came into the picture. It flung Miss Martian out into the open and Kid ran to defend her. When we found that his speedy nudge gave him no damage, we all focused our attacks on him. He began to fire his weapon, at which point I lashed out towards it to take it from his hands.

My locks whipped around the gun and pulled it for a moment before he pulled back, sending me down to the ground harshly. I stood up shaking but ran forward to fight again. Superboy jumped forward and I saw the ape prepare to do the same. I wrapped my hair around his ankles, tying them together and causing him to take the hit full on.

He fell through the wall behind him and we walked into the room, seeing a brain in some contraption and Captain Marvel trapped on a table. Kid Flash pointed to the brain machine. "It's the brain!"

"Uh," Artemis said with rolling eyes, "I can see that it's a brain."

"Not a brain, THE brain!"

"In the flesh," The brain announced in a heavy French accent before turning to the ape, "Monsieur Mallah, if you will."

The giant monkey pressed something in his hand and suddenly poles (similar to the one that Aqualad had pulled out of the ground earlier) stood up around us. We all fell, suddenly unable to move, until Kaldur called for M'gann and Superboy. "Now!"

Her eyes glowed and the switch flew from the ape's hand to her head. She pressed a button and it set us free from whatever was keeping us down. Superboy crashed through the wall behind Mallah and attacked him. We all spread apart and began to fight. The brain sent multiple lasers towards Aqualad, and I took the moment to tear the collar off of Marvel. He jumped up, thanking me with his grin wide, and proceeded to tear the collar off of his tiger friend.

We cornered the two villains and Brain stopped Mallah from attacking us. The hair on the back of my neck stood as Brain began to reveal weapon after weapon. As we all prepared to fight the fight, the lights shut off, only to turn back on. We looked around in confusion; the Brain and Mallah were gone.

We relaxed, and looked around for them a little longer before returning to the ship. As we did, I stared at Kaldur's back. He had done it again. He'd done something without telling the whole team. He'd planned that with M'gann and Conner; why hadn't he informed the rest of us?

It was those kind of things that I couldn't deal with. There'd come a day when he'd so something more than simply not telling us when M'gann would press a button.

I sighed lightly and he turned his head towards me. I looked away, saying nothing. Nothing I said would change him; this was just the way he was. So I decided to simply save my breath.

* * *

"That was the last of the collars." Marvel announced before taking his time to say goodbye to his tiger friend.

I stood to the side, looking up at the dark sky with a sigh. I was just ready to get back to my room, so that I could lay in bed and think about everything…especially Kaldur.

"I need to know. Why didn't you tell us about the mole?"

Everyone was staring at Kaldur now, and I joined in silence. He looked around, making eye contact with all of us before answering. "The tip was from Sportsmaster."

Everyone gasped and Artemis stepped forward with wide eyes. "What? You can't trust _him_!"

"I did not," He assured, "It seemed possible, even likely, that he was using this information to tear the team apart."

"And by how this mission went…he almost succeeded." Robin concurred, "But you had to consider the possibility."

"Yes, as leader, I did."

I looked away, realizing that this was the role Kaldur was meant to play. He had to make the hard decisions, despite what his friends believed."

"I did not wish to alert the mole, if there really was one." He further explained.

"I hate to say it, but it makes sense." Robin said with a sigh. Kaldur stared at him with the same serious gaze.

"I am still prepared to step down."

"Oh please." He looked at me as I stepped up with a sigh, "If anyone still wanted you to step down, I'd kick their butt myself."

I turned to the team, who grinned in response. "All in favor of keeping Aqualad as team leader?" KF asked, resulting in the team's hands reaching up.

He nodded, and everyone stepped inside the ship. He turned back to see me walking up to him. Before he could say anything, I took his hand in mine. "You're the leader…but you don't have to put all of the weight on your shoulders, you know. We're a team; we help each other."

I gave his hand a squeeze before heading in to the ship and sitting down. I closed my eyes, sighing for a moment.

I tried to at least let him know how I felt about his secrets; it was the best I could do. But I knew the truth. He wouldn't share that burden; not for my sake, or anyone else's.

* * *

I sat in front of the TV, late at night. I stared at the fuzzy screen, the white noise flooding the air. I held my head, unable to think straight. Everyone was happy again…so why was I still such a mess?

I liked Kaldur. I'd come to terms with it, but after this mission I realized that even though I did, I couldn't deal with his rash decisions. Our priorities were opposite. He was all about the future possibilities, and I was all about the present. I knew that keeping the mole secret wasn't personal, but that's how I saw it. It was hard to get over, even now.

I lay down on the couch and hugged the pillow to my torso closely as I closed my eyes tightly. Sleep was coming quickly to my mind, although I was sure I'd have nightmares tonight.

"I can't face that feeling again…that pain…I've decided."

I was going to stop liking Kaldur, for both his sake and mine.


	15. Chapter 15

This is a day late, sorry! I was almost done with it last night, but I was too tired to finish it. It's done now, and I can say with confidence that this is one of the best chapters I've written! I'm so excited to have you all read it!

Enjoy!

* * *

I sighed, walking into the mission room as Robin and Kaldur sparred leisurely with Captain Marvel and our baby sitter of the week, Zatara, watching. I stood on the side line, staring at the merman. Things had been going well; for the past week I'd managed to keep my distance from him, and so even though I knew my feelings were the same, I'd been able to keep them hidden. It was easy to do with school being by the beach. I'd often just stay out there until I was required to return to the cave. Today, for example, I was supposed to have trained with Hawkwoman, but she cancelled on me suddenly so I had nothing to do, and couldn't necessarily escape the cave with Zatara watching. And so here I was, enjoying a little guilty pleasure.

Robin and Kaldur stopped sparring and I turned on my heels to avoid gaining attention from the merman. He called my name, though, and I turned with a small sigh before smiling. "What's up?"

He smiled a small smile, able to tell that I was avoiding him. He knew something was up, he had known since the last mission, but I wasn't going to give him any clues. "I was wondering how your education was going. I trust your studies are treating you well?"

I avoided eye contact as I scratched the back of my head. "Yeah, it's going pretty well."

When I said nothing more, he frowned. "Are you still upset at me, perhaps, because of the mole situation?" He asked slowly and lightly.

I shook my head before looking around him to see Wally and Artemis come in. I looked at Kaldur for a moment, already making the movement towards the two. "I don't know what you're talking about, Kaldur! You're A-Okay in my book!" I jogged over to the two and continued to grin a frozen grin. My hands were shaking and I took deep breaths as I tried to calm down. They didn't seem to notice anything strange about me, since Wally had been complaining about Captain Marvel eating all of his snacks.

I laughed just as Batman strutted in. He immediately called for the computer to pull up the national news. We all faced the screen as it showed giant plans attacking Metropolis, and multiple superheroes fighting it…including my flying mentor.

So that's why she canceled training.

"Should we get out there?" Robin asked anxiously. Batman turned from the screen, his eyes narrowed.

"No." Everyone stared at him in surprise before he continued, "The league will soon have everything under control. That's not why I'm here."

"Then…why are you here?" I asked, feeling a small knot in my stomach.

"According to your intel Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus's blockbuster formula to Cobra."

"Well, yeah." KF's eyes flashed with realization. "Wait…he combined it with Bane's venom to create Cobra venom!"

Robin's eyebrows lifted. "…Which the Brain used to create the animal army!"

All of our eyes widened as we connected the dots further. The plants had the Cobra venom too.

"These cannot be coincidences." Aqualad stressed, "Unrelated super villains are cooperating worldwide."

"Exactly." Batman said. "It is now clear that our opponents have formed a sort of…secret society. The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."

"You got that right," Robin said, having pulled up a map of his own, "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham city, Paris, Star city and Taipei—"

All of the screens suddenly went black. Batman turned quickly to look at the screens, his knees bent and his stance steady. He was cautious, which meant that some serious stuff was about to go down.

I took hold of M'gann's arm, staring at the screens in concern. "That shouldn't be happening…should it?"

"Dude!" Wally said to Robin with a grunt. Robin began to viciously type, growling.

"It isn't me! Someone's hacked the satellite."

"But who?" M'gann asked. The face on the screen answered her question. My nails dug into her arm and she yelped. I apologized, letting go of her arm and rubbing my shoulders instead. Kaldur placed his hand on my shoulder to comfort me, but I took a step towards M'gann to rub her arm.

I looked back up to the screen, easily forgetting about Kaldur when I saw the clown on the screen. It was the Joker.

He tapped his head, a hollow thunk sounding, and he began to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this,"

I shivered as he flicked a knife out before moving the camera towards six figures. "The Injustice League!"

I didn't recognize any of them except Poison Ivy, which I couldn't tell if that was good or bad. The man in the front, who was wearing a green cape over a well-made suite, began to explain that the injustice league had been responsible for the attack on the cities. He also explained that in order to save those cities, we'd have to hand over ten billion dollars.

"There is no time limit," He said in a thick accent, "But the longer your governments wait…"

The Joker suddenly pulled the camera back to his face, "The more we get to have our…_jollies._"

His laughter sent chills down my spine, echoing in my head even after the screens turned to static. The dude was crazy. I didn't want to have anything to do with the creep, or any of them, for that matter.

As Batman spoke to Aquaman about the ransom, Robin rewound the clip to my displeasure. He began to name the villains. "Count Vertigo, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Atom, Wotan—seven heavy hitters. Probably behind everyone and everything we've faced."

Wally and Robin shared a glance. "There's your secret society..."

"Not so secret anymore." Artemis commented.

"Perhaps after India, they realized we would reduce the truth, and saw no point in hiding any longer."

"I wish they had decided to just stay hidden away…" I mumbled, "This gives me a really bad feeling."

"Are you kidding?" Wally asked me before pumping his fist up, "I vote we go kick some plant creature butt!"

"The justice league will handle the plants." Batman interrupted, "I have a different mission for you."

"A different mission?" I repeated, my face paling. What else was there to do? What, was he going to send us to—

Oh no. No way.

"There is a central command center for this plant somewhere…I want you to find it, and destroy it." The Bat commanded.

I shook my head for a second before receiving a glare from Batman. I took a deep breath as I realized we were going to battle the super villains.

"You realize what you are really asking." Zatara said slowly, walking up to Batman.

I smiled lightly, stepping up. "Y-yeah, don't you think we're a little too fresh to—"

"They're ready." Batman said, ignoring my passive attempt at escaping the mission.

"Well, Batman," Zatara said, looking at me for a moment, "I trust you are correct."

Zatara located the location of their hideout, and all hope inside me died. We were actually going to go there, and we were actually going to fight super villains.

Did he not realize that I had nearly died twice from missions with normal villains? What made him think I was ready for the Joker, and all these other guys that had faced the league? I wasn't ready for this.

We separated to gather our weapons and uniforms. I gave Lae a hug and kiss before sitting her in the bathtub. I sat down beside her for a moment, sighing. She rubbed her nose on my arm and I rubbed her head before moving out to my bedroom. I looked around in silence before noticing the switch blade I had bought about a week ago. I picked it up, flipping it open and stared at the metal. I closed it again and slipped it into my boot. I was going to need all the tricks up my sleeves for this mission. "Bye, Lae." She whimpered but I left her quickly.

I walked past Wally's souvenir room, and happened to spot Kaldur staring at the helmet they had gotten on the mission I had missed. I paused, staring at him, and lowered my eyebrows.

Usually I'd talk to Kaldur when I was worried…but after having so clearly distanced myself from him, it was hard to do now. He turned, noticing me, and called my name before I could escape. I turned to him all the way, having attempted to run, and my head lowered. "H-hey…"

"Are you alright?" He asked, approaching me, "You seemed rather shaken up in the other room."

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I reassured him, taking a step back to keep the distance, "I'm just a little…worried, is all."

"We will be alright, Angie." He gave me a smile, "I promise you that."

I looked to the side, nodding, and walked towards the garage. His words only made me feel even more uneasy. They just sounded clouded…like he was hiding something again.

Everyone got on the bioship, and as we flew, it was a rather silent ride. Kid Flash pointed out a duffle bag at Kaldur's feet. "What's in the duffle?"

Kaldur looked at him, and then the bag. "Plan B."

Before anyone could ask about 'plan B,' M'gann groaned. "Are you alright?" Conner asked.

"Dizzy…" She replied.

"I didn't know Martians could get air sick." Robin commented.

I noticed that she was leaning forward more and more as we continued. I stood up, taking hold of her shoulder. "M'gann, what's wrong?"

"It's not me," She said with another groan, "It's the bioship. She's trying to shield us, but—"

The bioship suddenly spun around, sending me left, right, up and down. Getting out of my chair hadn't been my smartest idea…

I groaned, finally managing to take hold of the counter at the front of the ship, until we were throttled forward again. I fell to my side, about to start rolling around the ship again, when Kaldur took hold of me. He held me in his arm, holding the counter with his free hand, and kept us as still as possible. The bioship fell to the ground and we all moaned and groaned together. I stayed in Kaldur's grip, holding his thigh for support as I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment; I felt nauseous.

His grip loosened. "Are you alright, Medusa?" I looked up at him with an open eye, nodding.

"A little bruised…but I'll be fine." I looked up at the top of the bioship, hearing a strange noise. Black Atom was ripping the ceiling of the bioship, and M'gann grabbed her head in pain before Superboy punched BA out off of the ship.

The roots outside, however, were dragging the ship down under the water. The ship began to fill with swamp water. I held my hair, panicking. "We're going to drown in my hair before we drown in water!"

"M'gann we to get out; open a hatch!" Superboy said, holding her arm as she still held her head.

"Hello Meagan!" She said, smacking her head before growing gills and ducking under the water. I stayed above the water as long as I could until Kaldur pulled me under.

"Get out quickly!" He said to me. I must admit, it was really cool to see him talk under water. "Everybody, out, out!"

I swam quickly, him holding my hand to help my speed, and we reached the surface first. My hair was at my ankles at this point, but I was glad that was as far as it got. "Thanks." I said to Kaldur, letting go of his hand with tinted cheeks.

After everyone was behind us, we watched the bioship sink. "Well…there goes any chance of escape." I said to myself when suddenly there was a pain in my head. I shrieked as I fell down, only to realize I wasn't alone. All of us were on the ground, withering in pain. Count Vertigo approached us.

Robin had opened their files for me while we were on the ship. Vertigo had the ability to largely affect minds, mostly resulting in pain for the receiver. And boy were the receivers resulting in pain.

Superboy managed to leap forward, only to have Black Atom throw him to the ground. Aqualad took the chance to swipe the Count with water, sending him a few yards away.

"_Robin, Miss Martian, disappear! We will distract them. You two, fulfill the mission's objective!"_

Robin had already vanished, and Miss Martian quickly disappeared as well. Black Atom flew towards us but I somehow managed to dodge his slam. Wolf, who had tagged along this mission, attacked him only to be thrown back onto Artemis and KF. I threw my hair towards him, wrapping it around his limbs, only for him to pull me forward. I landed on his chest, and he squeezed me in his grip. I screamed as he slowly crushed me, and I started to see stars.

"Medusa!" I looked to the side with a cracked eye to see Aqualad come towards us, wielding a water hammer. He took a swing at Black Atom, who responded by letting go of me and socking Kaldur in the face. He fell quickly, and even after a moment, he wasn't getting up. I stared at his limp body with wide eyes before Black Atom returned to me again, grabbing my hair and pulling me up. I looked at his dark eyes, my body shaking with fear and adrenaline as I realized how honestly unprepared I was for this battle.

"You're just a scared little girl, aren't you?" He asked as he grinned, "You can't even fight your own battles…look at how you hurt your little friend!"

My eyes narrowed as I growled. I felt a throb in my heart as I realized he was right. Perhaps Aqualad had done all of those things not just because he was a leader, but because he wanted to protect his friends.

And here I was, only hurting him more with every stupid decision I made.

I screamed loudly, my eyes turning yellow as I gazed into Black Atom's eyes. He turned to stone, although still holding my hair, and I grew it out more before wrapping him in my locks. I cut it off with the blade from my boot and pushed him down. I wasn't sure how long it would last, but I had to keep him down in the most difficult position I could.

I ran over to Kaldur and rolled him onto his back. I called his name multiple times, my voice cracking, when another wave of nausea and pain attacked me. Already weak from Black Atom's hug, I fell quickly.

I looked over to see Vertigo standing by Black Atom's stoned body. He broke the hair that had wrapped around him and soon Black was back to his old self. The two stood over me, Black Atom growling angrily now. Count shrugged his shoulder to me as I growled myself at the two. "Take her out." He commanded. Black Atom stepped forward, cracking his knuckles before raising his fist.

"My pleasure."

* * *

"They awaken." I moaned as I heard Count Vertigo's voice, "You're certain this will hold them?"

I sat up, groaning as I noticed that Kaldur was also waking up. We looked at each other before looking around to find ourselves locked in a golden cage.

"The cage is impenetrable. Even Superboy has no chance of escaping." I peeked up to see Wotan was the person who had been speaking, and that he was the one that had made this cage.

Aqualad grabbed the bars near him and glared up. "You are not the only one trained in the mystic arts, Wotan!" His tattoos glowed, and he tried to pull the bars apart, but failed. Instead, it drained his energy and he fell down the bar with a groan.

I crawled over to him and pulled him from the bars so that he could rest in my grip. Wotan chuckled darkly. "Please, Atlantian, do not pretend that you are in my league." I glared at him through the cage before looking down at Kaldur again.

"Are you alright?" I asked in a whisper. He opened his eyes with a moan before nodding as he sat up.

"And you? You are bruised on your cheek…" I nodded in response as I gently caressed my cheek before sighing.

"I'll be fine…don't worry about me." We gazed forward as we approached a glass dome that I could only assume was the headquarters. A giant plant, larger than the ones we had seen on TV, stood in the middle of it.

I looked around the cage to see that Robin and Miss Martian hadn't been caught yet, which gave me some hope. Everyone else began to awaken as we neared the dome when suddenly there was a grunt from above, and the cage disappeared from around us. Black Atom, who had been holding the cage from beneath, focused on catching the Count, which gave me enough time to sprout my wings and grab Superboy and Artemis.

I dropped them down, only to find ourselves surrounded by Black Atom, Poison Ivy, Count Vertigo and Ultra-Humanite. Superboy went to fight the monkey, of course, and Artemis and Aqualad worked to take down Ivy together. Kid was running towards the Count and Black, and I followed. I had a score to settle.

The Count slowed KF down and Black swatted him away like a bug. He made eye contact with me, however, and his apathetic gaze turned harsh. "I will destroy you, little _Medusa_." He flew at me and I felt nothing but panic. All of the anger and justice in my mind disappeared, and I focused on staying alive. I dodge a couple of his hits, but as jumped into the air, so did he. He grabbed my arms, throwing me down into the swamp, and would have crashed down on me had it not been for Superboy intercepting him. I stood up on shaking legs and saw Artemis under the Count's power. I threw my hair towards her and brought her to my side. She was too dizzy to stand, and so I wrapped my arms around her and began to fly her to a safer location.

As I did so, the large plant at the center of the dome suddenly exploded. I grinned, noting that it was more than likely Robin and M'gann that had done that one. "Yes!" I cheered. We had done it!

I was near the woods when lightning struck my back. I screamed, falling back down with Artemis into the swamp. I held my hair up, layering it so that the powerful beam would not hit us directly. I peeked through the hair, though, to see the bioship. A small smile of hope appeared on my lips; an escape!

But the bioship only opened itself to drop a bag into Kaldur's hands. I suddenly remembered his 'plan B,' and watched from afar. He took out the golden helmet from earlier and raised it above his head. When Wally began screaming for him to not do it, I looked around in confusion, a knot forming in my stomach once again.

"Kaldur?" I called out, lowering my hair since Wotan was now staring at the helmet. He didn't turn to me, and instead placed the helmet on his head. There was a bright light that caused me to shield my eyes, but once it darkened again, I looked to see that Kaldur was no longer there. A man in a golden cape stood in front of us. I looked at everyone's expressions and only felt more and more panic. What had he done?

"Wotan, you are mine." The mystery man declared as he flew up to the evil magician. Wotan attacked him, but the man easily beat his powers, sending Wotan onto the dome and chaining him up. I was distracted from the battle above my head when I took a hit from the monkey's beam. It sent me back into a tree and I groaned as Artemis helped me up.

We separated and I flew into the air to dive down on the giant ape. I was becoming less and less fond of monkeys, too. I dodged the lasers and fought with him, only to have Black Atom join the party. He wasn't letting go of our uneven score. "You're mine, little girl!"

He brought me into another bear hug and I let out a scream as he popped my back with the increasing pressure. He smiled up at me, laughing. "Let's continue where we had left off. Now, what was it I was doing?"

I screamed louder, my hands cringing at my sides as he squished me. "Ah yes, splitting your spine into two pieces!"

"You will do no such thing to my pupil, you wretched feign!" He took a hit to the head by something silver, and I dropped to the ground gasping. I looked up to see Hawkwoman standing in front of me, her hands on her hips.

I stood up and gave her a small grin as I caught my breath. "Eh he…I turned him to stone…it made him angry."

She caught me as I stumbled forward and we shared a rare chuckle. "I guess you have been learning something from me, after all. Good work, child."

I looked up to see a large number of leaguers coming forward. They circled around the group of villains and Batman walked up to them. "It's over." They raised their hands in defeat, but the Count spoke.

"There will be another day." He said before the Joker scoffed.

"Another day? Another day? There won't be another day…for any of us!" He said as he cackled, raising his hands to show glowing gloves. Some roots appeared out of the swamp, and began to emit pockets of green gas. Batman knocked the Joker out quickly. "Joker venom—don't breathe!" He commanded.

I looked at the wave of gas approaching us when suddenly the golden helmet rose above the smoke. "Fear not!" I blinked, hearing Kaldur's voice. A symbol arose, and began to suck in all of the venom gas inside. Once it was all gone, the symbol disappeared, and he spoke again.

"Fate has intervened!"

* * *

"What were you thinking?" I stared with wide eyes as KF screamed at Miss Martian, "How could you let him put on the helmet?"

"I…" I looked at everyone's lowered heads, "I don't understand. What's going on? What is that helmet?"

Wally looked at me with wide eyes before looking away.

"That's Dr. Fate's helmet…he will never let go of Kaldur now." Wally explained, lowering his gaze. I looked at him, and then at Kaldur—or rather, Dr. Fate. He looked so different, but his eyes remained the same light blue green mix.

I shook my head from side to side, the knot in my stomach filling up my body. "What do you mean…he'll never let him go?"

"…Kaldur will be trapped inside of Dr. Fate forever."

I approached this Dr. Fate, and stared into his eyes. Their eye color was the same…but that gentle gaze was replaced with a harsh glare. I felt panic rise in my body and I pulled on his cape. "Please, let him go!"

He said nothing at first as I begged him, but he eventually answered me. "I will not let go of this body."

I glared up at him, "He put that helmet on to protect us! You can't repay his kindness this way!"

The doctor scoffed at me as if I were a peasant in his kingdom, "His body is granted with being used as a guardian of order. That is plenty of repayment."

I took a deep breath before raising my hands to the helmet. "I'll just take the helmet off myself!"

Artemis screamed for me to stop, but I placed my hands on the cool metal anyway. I screamed as my hands were singed by the power of the head piece; it sent a shock through my body and threw me across the swamp and into a tree. I stood up as I tried to regain my breath, and glared across the water to the golden helmet. "What kind of guardian of order are _you_?" I scoffed back.

He said nothing, and stood there in silence. I stared, realizing that I was powerless compared to him. I shook my head again, tears blocking my vision. "…give him back to me…you can't have him." I whispered before I fell down to my knees. I covered my face with my hands, shaking my head.

He didn't deserve this…he did everything for us!

As I wept, there was a noise…a strange noise. I looked up to see Kaldur standing with the helmet in his hands once again. KF ran up to him. "Nabu let you go?"

"He almost did not." Aqualad explained, "But your friend Kent was most helpful. He says hello."

The two shared a grin before Batman spoke. "We're done here. The super villains secret society has been neutralized. As for your performance…"

He looked around, "Satisfactory."

"And an astounding excellent for the little lady!" Aquaman added with a grin towards me, winking, "For caring so deeply about my Aqualad."

I made no motion to laugh, and his grin fell. They awkwardly departed, thanks to Aquaman's last comment. I stayed by the tree on my knees, staring at Kaldur with a strong glare. He made his way over to me immediately after he handed Wally the helmet.

"Angie, are you—"

I slammed my hand against his face, and everyone stopped to stare at us. He held his cheek as he slowly turned to me again with wide eyes. I began to shake, holding my hand in pain. I stared at him through tear filled eyes.

"How…how _dare_ you do this..." I said in a whisper, unable to yell, "How _dare _you!"

"Angie," He said with hesitation, "I only wished—"

"You only wished for the best of the team, I know!" I snapped, "But what would we do if you ended up gone, forever? What would happen then?"

He said nothing and stared at me. I continued to shake my head, glaring at him. "Didn't you promise me you'd never leave me alone?" He opened his arms to me but I slapped them away.

"Don't touch me." But he only closed his arms in closer to my body. I hit his chest as hard as I could, now managing a scream.

"Didn't I tell you to share the burden?" I yelled as his arms wrapped around me, "Didn't I tell you we'd be there for you? What's the point of being a team if everyone just works alone?"

I pulled him in close now, wrapping my arms around his neck as my anger was suddenly replaced with fear. "I can't lose you…I can't!"

His grip tightened as his chin rested on my shoulder. "…I am sorry, Angie."

I wept onto his shoulder for a moment longer before finally calming down. He helped me stand up and looked at my hands, bringing them down from his shoulders. I hiccupped while he sighed. "Dr. Fate was most harsh on you…"

"Even if he is a lord of order…the guy is a jerk." I mumbled with a growl. Kaldur chuckled and we turned to get on the bioship. Of course, everyone was now staring at us with wide set grins.

"So, uh…Angie." Artemis started.

My cheeks turned red as I realized what a show I had put on for the team. I shook my head, "Y-you don't understand—"

"Oh we understand all right." Robin said, his hand on his chin. I covered my face in embarrassment before I crashed through them to get to the bioship.

"I'm injured, let's go home!" I declared from inside the ship. They only laughed at me, Kid Flash nudging Kaldur. I stared at him from the corner to see him smiling lightly. My cheeks only burned darker, and I sat down to face the window. He sat down beside me, taking my hand in his once again. I looked at him, jumping but saying nothing; my voice was suddenly gone.

"I shall make a potion for you." He said, gently grazing his finger on my hand. I looked around, everyone still grinning, and I tore my hand out of his grip and turned towards the corner. He chuckled behind me and I shut my eyes tightly. Just earlier today I had been avoiding him…now I was jumping on him like I was his girlfriend.

"So Angie," Wally said, chuckling with Robin on the other side of the ship, "I guess you like your men webbed."

It was going to be a long ride back. "Shut _up_ Wally!"


	16. Chapter 16

This chapter…this chapter oh my goodness you guys. It is nothing but fluff. Adorable, squealing fluff. I could not control myself. Not one bit. Sorry about the lack of Kaldur-ish talk…I don't know why but it was really hard to get into his character. I'll practice more and come back to edit it one day.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

It happened.

I knew it, the team knew it, and Kaldur…

"He definitely knows it."

I said nothing for a good five minutes, the only noise coming from my mouth being a scream that was emitted into a pillow. I took a deep breath as I sat up again, and stared at the mirror. It had been one day—just one day—and I was already a mess. My hair, which I had yet to cut, was wiggling around in reaction to my off set emotions. I often slapped it, turning redder as I realized that my feelings were so out of tune that my locks were dancing.

I brought my hands up to my face as I lay down again. They were still burnt by Dr. Fate's helmet, and I worried that they would be scarred. I was messed up enough as it is!

I sighed, standing up to go cut my hair. Kaldur had told me he'd stop by today to give me that potion; I had to look good. I turned red again as I realized my feelings for him were open like a book…what was I going to do now?

I lifted my scissors to my hair and began to cut away. I decided to go for a new style, and so I cut the back shorter than the front, making my hair a diagonal bob. I smiled lightly, pleased at the hair cut, right when there was a knock on the door. I quickly cleaned up the hair that had fallen away from the trashcan and called for whoever it was to wait a moment. Lae, who had been sleeping at the foot of my bed, jumped up and ran over to the door barking. I came out to see her tail wagging in excitement, giving me a hint at who was behind the door. I took a deep breath and opened it to see Kaldur.

He smiled right away, and my deep breath helped absolutely none. I began to stutter, waving my hands up and down. "H-hey Kaldur! You look happy—not that you don't ever _not _look happy—you just seem happier than usual…yeah, that!"

"You seem well, too, Angie." He commented, "And may I say that your new hair style suits you quite well."

I blushed, thanking him for the compliment quietly. He chuckled, petting my head and handing me a jar. I blinked down at it before looking up at him in confusion. "What is it?" It wasn't the usual green potion he would bring me…this one was purple, leaning heavily on the pink side.

"It is the potion I promised you." He said with a small smile.

"Okay…" I said with a raised eyebrow, "but why is this one purple?"

He scratched the back of his head and chuckled. Was that blush staining his cheeks? "...I admit that I did not have Garth's help in making this one, so it may be a bit strong. My apologies. Don't use too much of it at once."

I waved my hands frantically. "O-oh, no, it's okay! I was just curious!" I lowered my hands to hold the jar in both hands with a small smile. He had made it all by himself, just for me.

"…thank you. I'll use it."

He smiled at me calmly, his eyes soft. I avoided his eye contact when he began to speak to me. "Angie, I was—"

A gust of wind suddenly blew towards us and the jar slipped out of my hands. It shattered between the two of us and I stared with wide eyes until I heard Wally's laugh. "Look at you two, talking already, so early in the morning!"

"Wally!" We looked to my right to see that Artemis was stalking after him, "Stop bothering everyone!"

I sighed, bending down to the ooze. "You broke the potion he made for me!" I complained as I scooped up the liquid in my hands.

Kaldur bent down quickly and broke my hands apart, letting the potion fall. "Don't hold so much at a time! It will—"

"Oh." He began to spin in my vision, and I fell onto my behind. The potion was taking immediate effect, and was hitting hard. I tried to focus on Kaldur's face, but there were too many of him to count. "Since when did you have brothers Kaldur?"

* * *

When she asked me how many male siblings I had, it was clear to see that she was deranged from the potion. Wally and Artemis, who were standing behind me now, questioned her sanity.

"Is she alright?" The blonde asked. Wally laughed.

"It's like she's completely drugged! What was that stuff?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "It was a potion for her injuries…but it was a bit strong. She wasn't supposed to hold so much at once."

Angie was now on her knees, one hand on the floor and the other on my thigh. I looked down at her in surprise. She was acting most drugged, indeed.

"Kaldur, why is it that it's always you that gets me into these…" She stopped, lifting her hand from my thigh to cover a giggle, "_sticky _situations?"

Even Artemis giggled at her behavior, but I only exhaled before standing. I took a towel from her bathroom and came back to clean her hands. She sat up for me, crossing her legs and holding out her hands like a child.

Artemis commented on the tan girl's act. "She's really…childish right now. That's some weird potion, Kaldur."

I coughed into my hand, trying to keep my embarrassment hidden. Potions had not been my favorite subject back in Atlantis. "Perhaps I put too much of an ingredient in."

"I'll say!" Angie exclaimed, taking her hand out of the towel and suddenly pushing her hand into her face before placing it in front of mine, "My hands are pink now!"

"Do they hurt?" Wally asked as we all leaned forward while she rolled away from my side. She looked at her limbs again before looking up to us and shaking her head.

"They tingle!" She giggled, "It kind of tickles!"

We all sighed together and I stood to walk over to her. Helping her up, I placed her on the bed where she sat with a pouting expression. "Kaldur won't let me roll on the floor; he's no fun!"

Wally had his phone out now, and was recording her with a grin. "I can't wait to show this to her once she snaps out of it!"

"Speaking of which," Artemis said, crossing her arms, "How long is she going to be like this?"

As I cleaned the potion and shattered glass with the towel, I shook my head. "I am uncertain. I would assume by the large amount she picked up that she will be like this for at least another couple of hours."

"Sweet!" Wally said with a laugh before Artemis elbowed him, "What? It's funny!"

"I shall make sure to direct her rage to you, then." I commented to Wally, "Since it is your fault the jar broke in the first place."

"Don't do that!" Wally complained, placing his phone back in his pocket, "Last time she got mad at me she refused to give me dessert!"

"Then I'll just delete this for you," Artemis said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his phone to remove the video. He was most…bothered, to say in the least. His face turned red and he turned quickly to face the blonde.

"You pervert!" He accused.

"Pervert?" She held her hand on her chest, insulted.

"Pervert!" Angie said in a more delightful manor before covering her mouth with her hands. I do not quite understand why, though…we could still hear her giggling clearly.

"I believe we should all calm down a little bit…" I suggested, moving Wally and Artemis out of the room. They only continued to argue as they walked down the hallway, at which I rolled my eyes. The two need, as the surface dwellers said, a room.

I turned back to Angie, who was now on the floor hugging Lae. She rubbed her head on Lae's, who was staring at her in confusion but wagging her tail slowly, as if unsure if Angie was playing with her or not.

Angie looked at me, lifting her head. She proceeded to stick her tongue out at me, and spit in my general direction.

"May I ask why you're…spitting at me?"

"You're no fun!" She exclaimed again, letting go of Lae and rocking back until she hit the bed. "You're always mister serious!"

She made a face (I believe she was mocking me), and I chuckled lightly while raising an eyebrow. "I…apologize?"

"No apologies from you; I'll have none of that!" She exclaimed, waving her finger in the air, "You apologize, but you don't actually understand _why _you're apologizing! It's…it's…"

She threw her arms into the air, "It's insulting! You don't care about my feelings at all!"

"That is hardly the case," I insisted until I gazed into her eyes. Her mouth fell to a frown and she stared at me. "I care a lot about how you feel."

What I said was true. At first, I had seen her as simply a sibling…but my feelings strangely grew into more. When I began to focus on the team, I found myself concerned with her whereabouts the most; I did not want her to be scared, or alone. I quickly came to realize that I enjoyed her company more than anyone else's; I liked her.

Even when she strangely ignored me, or avoided me, I could not help but attempt to figure out why, and try to remain on her good side. I knew that some things I did as the team leader frustrated her, but whenever I did something…I thought of her first. Her safety was more important to me than the possible hatred towards me. I would sacrifice everything for her.

"Kaldur." She was suddenly close to me; very close. I looked at her with wide eyes as I gently pushed on her shoulders.

"A-Angie, this potion is affecting your emotions."

"No it's not." I stopped pushing her for a moment, "I like you."

"Is this how you always act when you…like someone?" I asked with a looking away, "I recall your feelings for Robin being…less direct."

She finally fell away from my face and sat on her knees. She looked down in silence, saying nothing. I found a slight ping of disappointment, but made sure to keep it hidden. Finally, she looked up and answered. "I liked him…but it's not like how I like you!"

I raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

She lowered her arms and brought her hand to her chin. "It's like…like…hm…" I shook my head with closed eyes, finding myself a bit jealous. I could not help but want her eyes to rest on me…and only me.

I felt warm hands on my cheeks and opened my eyes to see her smiling. Her cheeks were rosy and her lips were full. I suddenly found it hard to resist placing a kiss on those lips. Had she not spoken, I would still be in that trance.

Her cheeks turned darker as she leaned in closer; I could feel her breath on my chin, "I _like _you like you, Kaldur…so much that I don't quite know how to say it. I think I liked you before I liked Robin…but I just didn't realize it."

I must admit, her words caused my heart to jump quickly. I leaned forward, ready to let her lips meet mine, when her head fell forward onto my chest. I opened my eyes, shocked, as I saw her unconscious. My face flared, I must admit, as I realized what had almost just happened. That was not very gentlemanly on my part; she was not in her right mind.

"A-Angie…are you alright?"

She mumbled something as she slid to the side, landing on the ground next to me. I picked her up quickly and placed her on the bed. Lae wrapped around her side, nuzzling her neck. I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "I will leave for now…you need your rest."

She nodded, to my surprise, and wrapped her arms around Lae as she closed her eyes. I turned to leave when she called out to me once again. "Kaldur, wait…"

I turned in silence and she stared at me, her eyebrows lowered. "You never said if you liked _me_…"

I turned all the way to face her and smiled, an eyebrow arched. "I do believe you know the answer to that already."

"Say it anyway." She said, covering her blushing cheeks behind Lae's head, "Tell me you like me."

I stared at her, unable to deny her cuteness. I walked over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I like you."

She smiled, giggling into Lae's neck and I left her side, in a bit of a daze myself. How would she react to this when the potion wore off? I chuckled, imagining her pulling her hair with a red face; I would put money on that being her reaction.

"Kaldur, come here!" I blinked, seeing Robin ahead of me. I joined him in front of a computer screen.

"What is it?" I questioned, stopping beside him.

Robin played the video, allowing me to view the scene playing out. I immediately recognized Caldoff, who was standing in the open door of a helicopter. Behind the reporter were two boys, about my age. I squinted as I looked at them and they came into focus. It was Tommy and Victor. "What are they doing in Verota?" I questioned.

Victor was shooting constantly throughout the whole video, guarding Tommy and someone else. Robin paused the video when the other person lifted their face, and zoomed in. My eyes widened in alarm.

"Is that..."

"Angie's dad." Robin said heavily with a nod, "Caldoff found him."


	17. Chapter 17

Get ready for a double update! I was late again (surprise surprise) so I decided that since I have time, and the juices are flowing, I'll be writing another update before tomorrow is over! Look forward to another update!

Enjoy reading!

* * *

"This is where it happened?" I asked quietly. Kaldur nodded beside me, sticking his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"Yes. Your father was reported to have been kidnapped here. It appears that he was working as a janitor at a school here in Verota, but was discovered by Tommy and Victor."

I nodded, staring at the crime scene from beneath my cap. I looked around, the police standing by the caution tape to insure no one stepped on the shattered glass and blood.

I stared at the red color, feeling sick. I turned quickly and began to walk away, shivering, when I crashed into someone.

I stumbled back, looking up to apologize. "I-I'm sorry, I wasn't looking at where I was going—"

"…Angie?" I looked up at the man's face with a blink as Kaldur approached us. My mouth opened widely as I recognized the male in front of me.

"Chad?"

We both stared at each other with wide eyes, unable to say anything. Kaldur, who was staring at the two of us in confusion, spoke. "Is this an…acquaintance of yours?"

Chad wrapped his arms around me tightly, pulling me from Kaldur's side. "I can't believe my luck! I get moved half way across the country, and I still get to see you! It's fate!"

When he planted a kiss on my cheek, I quickly made the point to pull myself out of his grip. I turned to Kaldur who was staring at Chad with a strange look. I wouldn't say it was jealousy…more confusion than anything.

"C-Chad, this is Kaldur! My…" I froze, unsure on what to call him. I recalled everything that had happened last night between the two of us, but we weren't necessarily _dating_.

As I pondered, Kaldur introduced himself with a firm handshake. "I am one of Angie's friends. It is a pleasure to meet you. I can only assume you are an old classmate of Angie's."

Chad looked at Kaldur in confusion but nodded slowly with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah…something like that."

"Is this really where you were stationed?" I questioned before explaining my question to Kaldur, "He was the one that helped me put away Tommy and Victor, remember? He got moved under a witness protection program."

"Speaking of which," Chad snarled, "Where were those promised phone calls? You completely left me in the dust!"

I waved my arms with a chuckle, "I-it wasn't up to me! We just wanted to protect you is all!"

"Oh please, I can protect myself," Chad grumbled before looking down at me again, "So what brings you to V-city?"

My smile fell and I held my arm, a now apparently common habit of mine. "We…we're looking for somebody."

Chad's smile fell as well. "Wait…did you know the janitor who was kidnapped?"

I nodded, but said nothing. Kaldur spoke for me. "The man was…close…to Angie."

"He was my father," I blurted out with a cracking voice. Kaldur rested his hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him before staring at the ground again.

"You're serious?" Kaldur and I looked up at Chad, who's mouth was hanging open, "He was the janitor at my school!"

My jaw dropped as we stared at each other. I spoke up. "D-did you get to know him? Did he say anything about me? What was he doing after he left?"

"Angie, calm down," Kaldur suggested. But I threw his hand off my shoulder.

"I need to know!" I stepped closer to Chad, "Did he do anything that could be helpful to us finding him?"

Chad stared at me with lowered eyebrows. "I-I'm sorry, Angie…he kept to himself like most workers did in the school…"

My shoulders shrugged down and I lowered my head. I said nothing for a while before I turned towards the shattered windows of the school. "I'm going to go inside for some clues."

"W-wait, Angie," Chad called. I turned to him in silence when he broke into a wide smile. "You won't get in there without proper attire. School was canceled, and the only people allowed inside are teachers and students getting their things; besides the police, of course."

"We can just change into uniform, then." I grunted, lowering my voice as I spoke about our superhero identities, "They'll let us through no problem."

"That may not be the best of ideas." Kaldur interrupted, "Your father's kidnapping was on public news; they know you saw it. More than likely they're tracking the are,a as it is, for you. If you go in as Medusa, it could very well be a trap."

"So what should we do?" I moaned, rubbing my forehead. Chad cleared his throat and grinned at me.

"I have an idea!"

* * *

"This is a bit awkward." Kaldur mumbled as he struggled to fix his tie. I chuckled, turning to him to help.

"You're not used to school uniforms at all, are you?" I tightened the tie and stood back, looking at the miserable fish boy. "Can you breathe?"

"I can…I just feel a bit…restricted, is all." He responded with a sigh as he tugged at his neck line. I pulled it loose for him and unbuttoned his shirt so that his neck was showing. He sighed in relief.

"If anyone asks about your gills, just say they're scars or something." I suggested, returning to my own outfit and pulling up my socks to my knees.

I looked in the nearby mirror, grunting to myself. School uniforms were not my favorite outfits…mainly because I looked younger and younger every time I wore them. Right now, I looked like a seven year old.

Kaldur approached me from behind, smiling lightly. "You do look nice in that uniform, however, Angie. It suits you."

I glared up at him before walking over to the door. "Who do you think you are, calling me a child?"

He stared after me with quite the puzzled expression, but followed me nonetheless. We went down the stair to see Chad waiting in the living room, having been watching TV while waiting for us to change. I looked around, noting that his house was a nice one.

"Are both your parents at work?" I asked as we approached him.

He grunted, his lip curling, "My dad is, yeah. My mom left us when I was little…no surprise though, seeing that my dad is a—"

He turned, his words stopping as he looked at me. "Whoa! You look so cute in that uniform!"

Irritated at their opinions of my outfit, I changed the subject. "Why do you have a girl's uniform, anyway?"

He grinned, his cheeks tinted as he rubbed his cheek with his finger, "So. School. Sneaking in. Are we going to do this thing?"

I rolled my eyes at his jump of conversation and followed him back to the school. We managed to get entry fairly easily; Chad had joined the football team here so he used it to his advantage. "Football players have a lot more stuff than you'd think."

To avoid hearing more of Chad's bragging, the police let us in quickly. We diverged from the path towards the gym and crept up to a janitor's closet on the far east side of the school. "This is where I usually saw him hanging out. The other janitors didn't use this closet because it's so out of the way."

"Do the police not know that this was his main area of use?" Kaldur questioned, "It seems a bit odd that no one noticed him using a completely different closet than the other janitors."

Chad shrugged, "This school isn't exactly known for their love of less fortunate people. Most of the time the students here tease janitors."

I opened the door and saw nothing out of the ordinary; just mops and brooms. I sighed, stepping in to allow Kaldur to close the door behind us. I turned the light on and looked around for closer inspection. "Look for anything robotic or biotic…if my dad left any clues, it'd be through those means."

We continued our search for a couple of minutes when my phone suddenly began to ring. I quickly answered it to avoid bringing attention to our hideout. The voice that spoke in my ear left me frozen.

"I see you're investigating already, Medusa. How swift you are."

"You." Kaldur and Chad looked at me in alert as my face turned into rage, "Give me back my father!"

"Don't be too loud; otherwise the police will find you!" Tommy said coily.

"You just wait until I find you. I'm going to—"

"You're going to what?" He asked with a chuckle, "Are you going to try to hurt me? Remember what happened last time? Your arm was nearly shot off! I can't guarantee that Victor will be on his best behavior, next time…"

"Why are you calling me?" I asked, lowering my voice and turning towards the wall to avoid eye contact with Chad and Kaldur, "You're not going to give my father back so easily…so what do you want?"

"What do you think we want?" He asked with a sigh, "We want _you_."

* * *

"You don't have to do this alone."

My eyes narrowed in silence. I stood up, petting Lae before turning to face Kaldur. He wasn't happy. We stood in my room as I prepared to leave.

"You know I do."

He sighed, standing separate from the door frame. He approached me, his eyebrows lowered. "If you do end up requiring assistance, you may call me at any time—"

"I know, Kaldur." I said with a small smile before letting it fall into a frown. We stared at each other, neither of us truly alright with the situation.

The Caldoffs requested an audience with me…alone. Fearing for my father's safety, I quickly agreed, to Kaldur's dismay. We had stuck to our promise religiously; now I was suddenly forced to break it.

Kaldur's mouth cracked open, but a voice from behind caused him to quickly shut it. Hawkwoman approached us, oblivious to our moment.

"I trust you have prepared?" I nodded, "Good. Come with me, then; I have something I wish to give to you for this journey."

Tommy had requested I return to Metropolis, where I would be getting on a Caldoff owned helicopter to insure we wouldn't be followed. I had no idea what was going to happen…but for once, I wasn't necessarily scared. I'd finally be reunited with my father…and I wouldn't let him get hurt.

I followed Hawkwoman to the mission area, where we met Hawkman. He held out a large hammer that had a wrist strap and I stared at it with wide eyes. "A hammer?"

"It will not break from anything. You should be able to carry it with no problem from the weight training I have been demanding you do."

I lifted it with ease as she said and slipped it onto my wrist. I held it again before looking at the two fliers. "Thank you."

"You should always carry a weapon in case your powers should fail you." Hawkman explained, "Good luck."

I nodded and made my way over to the transporters. Kaldur called out to me, running up. He looked extremely worried; I hated it. "Are you sure you do not wish me to accompany you—"

"You know I do, Kaldur." I said lightly, taking his hand in mine, "But I can't risk it. My father's life could be at stake."

"But I could very well—" When I shook my head, he sighed, lowering his. "I suppose you are right. I am just very uncomfortable with this situation."

"Me too," I said lightly, looking down, "I didn't want to have to break our promise."

His hands engulfed mine, squeezing tightly. "Then let us make a new promise."

I blinked and looked up in time to find his forehead on mine. My mouth cracked open in surprise as I was struck silent by his close blue green eyes. "If you return unharmed, I shall take you to Atlantis to celebrate the return of your father."

Still dazed from the unexpected display of affection, I found myself nodding lightly. "A-alright."

He held onto my hand, giving it an extra squeeze for good measure, before letting my fingers slide out of his. I gave him one last gaze before transporting to Metropolis.

When I arrived, Tommy was waiting around the corner, casually leaning on the wall. I gave him a greeting glare and he grinned in reply. "Long time no see, Medusa."

"Let's go." I demanded, crossing my arms. He looked at my hammer while whistling.

"That's some shiny arsenal you've got there soldier."

"All the shinier to hit you in the face with." I replied bitterly, "Let's. Go."

He shrugged, taking me up a building until we reached the top. Victor was waiting by the helicopter with a bored expression until he saw me. His lips spread into a grin and I kept my shivers as minimal as possible while I looked at him. Tommy wasn't a big deal to me…Victor was another story. He had nearly killed me multiple times, and I wasn't faster than a speeding bullet.

I said nothing to greet him and got onto the helicopter with the the two brothers. Victor, on the other hand, was itching to make conversation with me.

"So what have you been up to, Angie?" He asked, leaning forward.

I looked at him with lowered eyelids and snarled. "None of your business."

"Oh yeah?" He asked with a snicker, "Well I'll have you know that I have quite the fascination with the Justice League."

"That's great, Victor." I said sarcastically. He continued as if I hadn't interrupted him.

"How many people do you think those super heroes have killed?" I looked at him with wide eyes, surprised by his violent topic; his eyes were wide and he was breathing heavily out of his mouth. "Do you think they've killed innocent people on accident?"

"Victor, they're not the same as us." Tommy said to halt our conversation. I sighed in relief when he returned to silence. Victor had become more vicious since I'd last seen him.

Where we flew to, I don't know, but it took about an hour. Tommy pressed a button on some device before slipping it back into his pocket. We landed inside of a building, I discovered, when they opened the door.

I stepped out and the first person I saw was my father. I nearly screamed as I engulfed him in a hug. He wrapped an arm around my waist as tears fell down my cheeks. "Daddy…you're okay!"

"Agathangelos…I'm so sorry." He muttered as we separated, "They found you in the end…because of me."

I shook my head before hugging him again, "I'm just glad you're safe!"

Someone cleared their throat behind my father's back and we turned to see the father Caldoff. "James." I hissed, raising my hammer.

He had his hands behind his back and stared down at me with a demeaning grin. "Hello, _Agathangelos_. Or do you prefer Angie…or how about Medusa? You've got so many names these days…what was the latest one, Misty?"

I jumped, shaken that he knew my new name. "How…how did you—"

"Your father has been keeping quite the number of records on you while he's been away. No matter how much he wanted to protect you by staying away, he couldn't help but keep an eye on you. And that was his downfall."

"What are you planning to do with us?" I asked, my grip on my father's waist tightening.

"Well for one," He said as he snapped his fingers, "I'm going to give Cadmus your father."

Tommy and Victor took hold of my father and me, pulling us apart. "I'll get them off of my back, finally, and I'll get all the research funding I need. And two, I'm taking you for my experiments…and I'll finally figure out what makes you tick."

When he smiled cruelly to me, I spread my wings out of my back, letting the blood splatter into Victor's eyes. He howled as he let go of me to rub his eyes. He lifted the gun in his hand and began to shoot blindly.

"I'll kill you!"

I dove onto my father, my hair shielding us as best as possible from the bullets. Some pierced through my hair, but we were lucky enough that none of them hit us. I could hear Tommy and James screaming for Victor to stop, and soon I heard Tommy struggling with him for the gun. I stood up quickly, bringing my father up, and pulled him towards the helicopter. "Get on!"

I slammed the doors shut and hopped into the front seat. I kept my head down as I tried to figure out how to drive a helicopter. "You wouldn't happen to know how to fly one of these things, would you dad?"

He made his way to the front as well, pushing me gently to the side. "The problem will be finding the switch to open the building's top…we can't fly out of here without it."

Realizing that Tommy had the answer in his pocket, I slid the helicopter's door open. My father looked back at me in alert. "Agathangelos—no!"

"Stay inside, okay?" I called back, ignoring his plea, "And start up the helicopter!"

I lashed my hair out towards Tommy, and successfully hit my mark. He realized what I wanted and called for Victor. "She's after the controller!"

I began to pull him in quickly, only for his brother to slice my strands of hair. I cursed him lightly before stepping out of the helicopter and checking my surroundings. James seemed to have been hit by one of the stray bullets, and was being catered to in the corner. Some of the other guards had been hit by bullets too, and were lying on the ground in pain.

Talk about luck that my father and I hadn't been hit.

"Get her, you idiot shooter!" He screamed to Victor, "But don't kill her!"

Victor nodded, lifting a gun in his other hand and aiming at me.

_Think think think._

"Wait!" I shouted, raising my hands. Victor was silent, but he was listening cautiously. "Why do you listen to him? He's a jerk…you could come with us!"

Tommy and Victor both laughed at my attempt to reach them. "Us? Good guys? That's funny." Tommy said.

"If you don't recall, I've shot you." Victor reminded me.

I shook my head. "T-that doesn't matter. I know there's still some good in you."

"And what makes you think that?" He spat back. I lowered my eyes before looking at him again.

"You didn't shoot me right away, did you?" His eyes widened in surprise, "You were willing to listen to me, to give me a chance. Why shouldn't we give you one?"

"Don't listen to her, Victor—"

"I'm talking to you too, Tommy!" The brainiac looked at me, startled by my yelling, "I'm willing to give you a chance, too! Come with us!"

"Stop listening to this nonsense and shoot her!" James called, obviously irritated at my attempts to convert his sons. "After what you did to that girl, there is no other place for the likes of you!"

That Girl?

"Yes there is!" My heart was racing as Victor adjusted his gun at me, "There's a place for you right here, with me! Trust me!"

I could see his mind being made as his finger neared the trigger. I could see it in his eyes; he was conflicted and confused. He was mumbling something over and over again, and when I realized what it was, I threw out my last save; my last theory.

"What about Victoria?"

His grip on the gun faltered as his eyes widened. I lowered my eyebrows, hesitating to throw out my realization. "…You didn't really kill her, did you?"

He lowered the gun and looked away from me. Taking a deep breath, I took a step towards him. He brought the gun back up and shot at me.

"You don't know anything!"

I dodged the bullet, pulling myself to the right. It hit my hair, but I looked back up at him and I waved my arms up and down. "It's okay, Victor. I believe you."

Tommy and Victor shared a look before staring at me with unreadable faces. "When you 'recalled' what bad deeds you had done, you talked about shooting me…you didn't even think about killing Victoria." I spoke as calmly as I could, but was shaking terribly, "And before that, you asked about how many people superheroes had killed, and why they 'weren't like you.'"

I gave him a small smile, "You actually cared for her, didn't you?"

"Shut her up!" James called, suddenly more hesitant. He stood up, having had his arm wrapped, and he grabbed the closest gun. He aimed the pistol at me but Victor suddenly turned, his gun now pointed at his father. James glared at him. "Victor…what do you think you're doing?"

"What I should have done a long time ago." He scowled, "You killed Victoria…and forced me to continue this life of crime…"

"Victor, what, are you crazy?" Tommy asked, approaching his brother. Victor responded by digging in Tommy's pocket and finding the controller. He threw it my way before looking at James with a glare.

"Get out of here, Medusa." He said, his eyes not leaving his father's face.

I hesitated. "But…what about you, and Tommy?"

"I never planned on going with you in the first place!" Tommy said, although he was clearly shaken, "You're lucky I don't want to hurt my brother…or I'd stop you. You got lucky today, Medusa. Leave while you can."

"Don't you _dare_ let her leave, you fools! I'll put you in the cages again if you let her escape!" James threatened with rage. He moved forward, aiming his pistol at me once again and firing. I managed to block the bullet with the hammer and I took it as a hint to leave. I opened the helicopter quickly before shutting it behind me, still hearing James and Victor yelling.

"Let's go!" I told my dad, pressing the button. I could hear the building opening up above us, and my dad pushed us off the ground. We flew up quickly and I leaned over my dad to look out the window. Caldoff was thrashing, pointing at the helicopter and then at Victor, who was now holding both the guns. I made eye contact with Tommy, who stared at me in silence. When he gave a nod in my direction, my eyes widened.

The Caldoff brothers had never been evil…just corrupt.

We cleared the building and flew in a random direction; I was sure we'd be fine, so long as we flew away from that place.

I fell into the seat beside my father and wiped my sweating forehead. We both said nothing for a long while until I looked at him. "…you're alright?"

He nodded, smiling gently over to me before looking back out the window. "I am now, thanks to you. You've changed a lot since I left you—" His face turned grim.

"I…am sorry I left you all alone."

I shook my head, smiling. "If you hadn't left me, I wouldn't have met the best friends I've ever had. It's okay, I forgive you." I'm sure he wasn't convinced, though, with the tears streaming down my cheeks. My smile fought to stay on my face, but the cries escaped, turning it into a frown. I dove onto his lap, weeping.

"I was so worried you were dead, daddy!"

He put the helicopter on auto-drive and pulled me into a tight hug. I could feel his body shaking as he squeezed me so tight that I couldn't breathe. "I'm so glad you're alright, Agathangelos…"

* * *

"Angie." Kaldur was at the transporter tubes the moment he heard my name announced. He stopped when he saw my father, and immediately placed his hand on his chest. "You…are Angie's father."

My dad looked at him with a blink before he slowly nodded. "I am."

"It is a pleasure," Kaldur said with a slight bow, "I have heard much of you from Angie. I am Kaldur'Ahm."

"Your introductions will have to wait for another time," Batman said, arriving behind us, "We must discuss the changes."

"Changes?" Wally asked, arriving on the scene first, the others arriving as well. I noted the cast on his arm, wanting to sign it soon. "Is Angie's dad joining the team or something?"

I looked between Batman and my father. "Something tells me that that's not going to happen, KF…what is going on?" Batman and my dad had had some sort of conversation when I'd gone with him to the Hall of Justice…I didn't think anything of it, but now I was certainly thinking.

Batman didn't waste time. "Angie will be leaving the team."

My eyes widened along with everyone else's. "_What_?" M'gann yelled.

I crossed my arms, glaring at the two of them, "No, I'm _not_!"

"You are thirteen years old," My dad said calmly, "You're not old enough to take care of yourself, so I want to—"

"I've taken care of myself pretty well for the past three months you _abandoned_ me!" I yelled, cutting him off. He raised his hand and I fell silent.

"You're coming with me and that's final." His glare lightened, "Don't be so upset; we can go back to the old days again. Now that Batman and the Justice League have agreed to keep an eye on Caldoff and Cadmus, we're free."

"Don't you get it? I can't go back to being normal!" I said, shaking my head and taking a step back, "I haven't been normal since I discovered my powers, and I won't ever be normal again!"

I took a few more steps back so that I was beside Kaldur and Artemis, "I _belong_ here, I—"

"You are in danger of being dissected like a _frog _is what you are if you stay here." He snapped, unimpressed by my sense of belonging, "Caldoff has been able to find you all this time; what makes you think he'll stop now?"

I stared at him, unable to believe my ears. I turned, running to my room. M'gann caught up with me quickly as I slowed down at my room. She took hold of my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. I kept my eyes shut tightly as I hugged her back, trying not to cry. "I don't want to leave!"

"We'll figure something out," She guaranteed, "The team wouldn't be a team without you!"

We separated and I nodded quietly. I looked over her shoulder to see the rest of the team approaching, Kaldur in the front. I left M'gann's arms, smiling at the floor. "H-he doesn't know what he's talking about…he'll take it back, I'm sure."

"I…think it is best you go with your father, Angie."

M'gann and I looked up at him with wide eyes. M'gann approached him, shaking her head. "Kaldur, what are you saying?"

He sighed, shaking his head. He placed his hand on her shoulder and lightly pushed her out of his way. He approached me, his eyebrows lowered. "Your father has been alone for so long…he needs you, Angie."

I looked down, a frown fit on my face. As usual, he had a point, but I didn't see why I had to quit the team. Why couldn't I live with my father, but still work with them?

I looked up at the others. "What do you think about this?"

Everyone looked in different directions, fumbling.

"I mean…I see where you're coming from, but…" Artemis said, shrugging lightly, "He's a _good_ father, and he wants you to be safe. I can see where he's coming from, too."

"Maybe it won't be permanent!" Wally said, trying to brighten the mood, "Maybe it's just temporary! At the very least, when you turn eighteen you'll be a legal adult—"

Robin elbowed Wally in his gut, shutting him up before speaking, "He's worried, is all, Angie."

I looked at all of them, now even M'gann looking down. I took hold of my arm and gripped it hard. "Fine…I'll leave." I walked into the room and quickly closed the door.

I walked past Lae and threw open my suitcase. I began to shove my clothes inside, and throw anything that reminded me of the team in the trash. I looked at the clothes I was wearing, my uniform, and tore it off before shoving it in the trash.

I put on a t-shirt and some jeans before continuing; every so often cursing the day I'd met the team. After about fifteen minutes, I had divided my wardrobe in either the trash or my suitcase.

I fell to the ground, shaking my head as I looked at the mess I once called my room. This wasn't happening. Someone tell me I this really wasn't happening. I wasn't getting kicked off the team…was I?

I linked my hands together, squeezing my hands together in prayer. I'd believe in whatever god was out there…just as long as they'd give me my life back.

I understood that my father wanted me to be safe…but he couldn't take me away from my new home, my new family. I cared for them now just as much as I cared for him. Why did I have to choose?

I crossed my legs, wrapping my arms around them as I wept. What was I going to do?

* * *

"She is most upset." I explained, approaching Batman and Acacio, Angie's father, "But she has agreed to leave the team."

Batman nodded, but I found myself protesting at his calm nature. "Are you also in agreement with her leaving the team, Batman?"

He turned back to me, eyes narrowed. "It is not my decision to make. Acacio is Angie's guardian, and therefore has authority on what she does."

"Still…" I said nothing more, and Batman turned to leave.

"Moreover," Batman added, "She is her own person. If she decides to leave, it is final."

Acacio gave me a nod, "Thank you for taking care of my child up until now."

I shook my head, "She did not need taking care of. She, many a time, has saved us from certain death."

He kept his gaze steadily on me until Batman called him to leave. I returned to the team, who was sitting in silence together in the lounging area. Robin looked at me, his eyebrows lowered. "I know what I said, but…"

"Does she really _have_ to quit the team?" M'gann asked lightly.

I sat down, also sharing these mixed feelings. I believe I was most distraught. "I do not wish for her to leave, as well, but I cannot go against her father's wishes."

"But…" Artemis said, looking in my direction, "You may never see her again. Doesn't that bother you?"

I found a pain in my chest as she said those words, but I kept calm and left them to think. I had enough on my mind.

* * *

I brought my suitcase out, Lae at my leg. It was early in the morning. I'd told everyone that I'd be leaving in the afternoon, but I made sure to stress to my dad to get here at six am sharp, no later.

I made it to the garage, sighing lightly as I rested the suitcase on the ground. I sat on it, staring out at the opening door with lowered shoulders. So this was really it.

Lae whimpered, knowing I was upset, and I looked down at her, biting my lip. I wasn't even allowed to take Lae; she'd blow our cover far too easily…blue dogs weren't normal.

"I'm far from normal, myself." I mumbled before scratching her behind the ear and speaking up, "I'll miss you, Lae."

"I am sure she will miss you as well." I jumped up, turning to see Kaldur approaching me, "You are up quite early…"

I said nothing and responded by staring at the spots on the floor. They were suddenly very interesting; so interesting, in fact, that my heart was racing from just looking at them.

He came up, close to me. I found the courage to look up at him for only a short moment. "…what are you doing here?" I asked quietly.

"I came to see you." He said. Why was he so direct and calm? I squeezed my eyes shut under my bangs.

"You should have just let me leave." I muttered.

He was silent for a moment but he pulled my chin up so that I was forced to look into his eyes. I slapped his hand away, shaking my head and turning around. "Stop making this hard for me! Just…just go away!"

"I cannot." I turned to him, surprised by his tone, "I will not."

I found my face tinting a dark red. "W-what are you saying? Didn't you say before that—"

"Yes, I suggested you go with your father." He answered, "I acknowledged that he has been away from his daughter for three whole months, watching her from afar. I was considering his feelings."

I looked away again, shaking my head. What was the point of this?

"However," I turned and this time he was close to me. He brought his hands onto my waist, and pulled me close. His dug his chin onto my neck and almost pulled me off the ground with his hug. He was unbelievably taller than me, after all. "I did not consider your feelings as much."

"K…Kaldur?"

"We are your family now, too. If you go, we will miss you. No," He separated, loosening his grip on my back, "I will miss you, Angie."

His lips met mine and I melted. I closed my eyes, trying to enjoy the kiss, but I was too emotional. Tears fell from my eyes as I gripped his jacket tightly in my hands. I stood on my toes, kissing him back. When we parted, I couldn't open my eyes.

"I…I thought you wanted me to leave…it hurt." I wiped my tears as I sobbed, and Kaldur handed me a tissue.

"I am sorry for confusing you so much," He coughed into his hand, "I suppose I just do not know quite what to do when it comes to you."

A car came through the garage and approached us. I saw it was my father and I turned to face him with lowered eyebrows. He saw my expression and sighed. "Don't tell me you plan to fight this, Angie."

"That's right." I said, "I'm not leaving the team."

"You don't have a choice—"

"You saw that I can take care of myself, dad. I saved both you and me." I said, raising my hand to my chest, "I know that you want to forget all of this, but this—all of this— has made me! I've made friends…I've made family! The point is that these people have almost died to protect me; what kind of friend would I be if I didn't do the same?"

"That may be true, Agathangelos," He said as he crossed his arms, "But do you honestly expect me to let my only daughter to risk her life every day?"

I looked at him now with lowered eyebrows. "Daddy…this is the life I have chosen. I don't expect you to approve of it, but I do expect you to allow it. I've grown up so much…I'm not the same girl I was three months ago."

He stared at me, obviously unconvinced, when Kaldur stepped up. "I know that my opinion in this may not weigh heavily in this matter, but I give my word that Angie will not be harmed. Not if I have anything to say about it."

I stared at my father's face. He kept his eyes closed and tapped his foot; he was thinking. Finally he spoke. "Fine."

Kaldur and I smiled up at each other and I jumped onto him with a hug and laugh.

"_However_." I let go of the aquatic boy quickly and grinned in embarrassment to my father, "You will come live with me."

I nodded, hopping over to him to give him a hug. "I love you, daddy!"

He sighed with a smile, "You're never too old to call me daddy, huh?"

"You'll always be my daddy." I said with a smile.

He took my bag and threw it in the car. I asked for a moment with Kaldur, and after shoving him into the car, he obliged. I turned back to him, my cheeks tinted. He was embarrassed as well, scratching the back of his head as he chuckled. "I…apologize if that was a bit rash of an action."

"O-oh," I said with a small smile still on my face, "No, it's okay…I didn't mind."

He looked at me, sighing and shrugging his shoulders. "The cave will become quiet without you here."

"I'll be here most of the time, despite what my dad says." I said with a wink, "But I will miss being here, regardless."

He looked down to Lae and petted her. "Perhaps I can bring Lae to my home, permanently?" I nodded, smiling.

"That would be great; I'm sure she'd love it. Living in the water is safer for her, anyway."

We ran out of words to say, and he opened his arms for a hug. I jumped in gladly, and rubbed my cheek on his chest. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"I'll be waiting."

I separated from him and made a motion towards the car. "Tell everyone I'm sorry about the early exit!"

He nodded, waving as Lae howled sadly. I blew her a kiss before sliding into the car beside my now grumpy father.

"I don't approve of PDA."

I turned red and gently shoved his shoulder. "W-what are you talking about? That was just a hug!"

"Uh huh."

We left, and Kaldur and Lae stayed in the garage until we were out of site.


	18. Chapter 18

"Eaugh!"

I dodged Conner's fists, which were coming down at me fast. I sent a kick his way, but he easily dodged my attack, too. I brought my fist up but he caught it, smirking. I growled in reply when Black Canary called for our attention. "Good job, everyone."

I flipped my matted bangs out of my eyes as everyone gathered around her. I stood beside Kaldur, adjusting my pants. When I had had my fit in my room three days ago and thrown away my uniform, I was lucky enough that my skirt landed on a greasy pizza box, so got new pants. These were special white, flexible pants that I'd received from Hawkwoman and Hawkman. They insisted I change my uniform, anyway; they wanted me to have something to keep me warm if I needed to be.

"It's been a pretty productive week." BC had been coming in as the babysitter of the week. Captain Marvel was still around, though; he was practically waiting on Wally, as if trying to gain the blessings of a god.

Artemis commented on Wally's lazing. "Yeah, everyone's had a pretty good week except for Kid Malingerer!"

"Hey! Arm broken in combat against the Injustice League here!" He protested, waving it around.

"I'm sure Kaldur could make you a potion," I said, rolling my eyes, "Like he did when I was _shot_ in the arm."

Wally rolled his eyes right back at me and didn't skip a beat, "I don't want that potion. It made you all trippy and stuff."

I blushed as he turned my comment back on me and I crossed my arms. Kaldur coughed into his hand, blushing as well. "That potion…was not my best work."

Black Canary chuckled. "I really enjoyed being your—uh—'den mother' this week."

_Recognized, Zatara._

We turned as the wizard came into view and got on the network. He granted permission for a 'Zatanna' to enter the cave, and a young, black haired girl walked through. She wore a blue uniform, pulling it off a lot better than I did. She gave a nervous smile to the team as she stood next to Zatara.

"Zatanna, this is the team," Zatara introduced, "Team, this is my daughter Zatanna."

She looked around in silence before looking up to M'gann, who was flying down in front of her. "Hi! I'm—"

"Robin!" Suddenly the boy wonder was in front of M'gann. I raised an eyebrow and found myself grinning as he stuttered. So this is what I looked like when I had a crush on him.

He introduced us by name, and Kaldur welcomed her to the cave. She smiled lightly. "Uh, thanks…"

"So!" Robin said, turning back to her, "Are you—uh—ah—joining the team?"

I smacked my forehead as I grinned over to Artemis. "He's a natural." She whispered as we chuckled.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Zatara said, stepping up to them, "Zatanna is only here strictly as a visit."

"Isn't that a shame, Robin?" I called out from the back, only to return to snickering with Artemis. He sent me a glare.

"I am sorry that we missed the practice; I feel that it is something Zatanna could benefit from." Zatara spoke to Black Canary as M'gann turned to the rest of us.

"_Do the rest of you get a feeling like we're still on probation with Zatara?"_ She asked us with a frown. Conner nodded, lifting his arm towards the back, where Marvel was.

"_Not just Zatara; why is Marvel still around?"_

"_Because," _Wally said with a grin, _"We **like** having him around!"_

"**_You_**_ like having him around because he waits on you hand and foot!" _Artemis said, placing her hands on her hips. Wally raised his eyebrows, oblivious to the problem.

"_And your point is?"_

"_I'm alright with having a few weeks off from missions," _I said, flipping my wrist in the air, _"But it's more of the fact that we're being treated like babies that's bothering me."_

"_Indeed,"_ Kaldur commented, crossing his arms and tilting his head with a sigh, _"It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado as our supervisor."_

Robin glared to the side, past Zatanna. I noticed her growing glare and pulled at Kaldur's arm.

"_Yeah, at least he trusted us."_

Superboy turned from Robin as if he didn't even see Zatanna, and continued his rage while using obvious gestures. _"If you ignore the fact that we shouldn't have trusted him; he was the traitor! That machine nearly got M—all of us killed!"_

Zatanna stomped forward. "Are…you guys having a physic conversation? Cause I can't tell if that's cool, or really rude."

Zatara and Black Canary stared at us, waiting for an explanation. Supey happily obliged as he turned to them. "Alright, fine. We were talking about Tornado. It's been weeks since his attack, and the League hasn't told us _anything_!"

BC reassured us that they were searching, and that it was a top priority, but Robin would have none of those excuses. "You haven't found anything though!"

"Not yet." BC said calmly, "But Tornado is Justice League. The team is _not_ to pursue this."

Zatara tried to lighten the mood by suggesting we take his daughter on a tour of the cave. We looked around for her, only to find she was suddenly resting on Wolf's side, a few yards away. I don't know when she had gotten there. When Wolf got up, we saw Marvel returning with the nachos Wally had requested earlier.

"You're giving a tour?" Marvel asked with a smile, "Cool!"

"Actually," Superboy said, "I was wondering if you could take Wolf outside. He needs the exercise, and we'll catch up with you in a minute."

I switched a look with Kaldur to confirm what I thought was going on. He looked at me with a crooked grin and I grinned back. So it _was_ happening.

"Sure, sure!" Marvel said, "I can do that!"

He flew with the nachos, leaving Wally to drool after them until Conner pulled him into a walk behind us. We walked down a corridor, and Zatanna stopped. "We're not really taking a tour, are we?"

I turned to look at her and saw she had changed into different clothes. My eyes widened in surprise, but since no one else said anything, I kept my mouth shut. Conner began to speak. "No, we're hunting down that robot." He looked to Aqualad for confirmation.

"Yes, we are."

"Oh wow." Zatanna said with wide eyes before grinning, "Out loud and everything."

"What about new girl?" Artemis questioned. Robin shrugged with a chuckle.

"I'm sure she won't tell!"

Zatanna turned to him with a smirk. "I can't tell! Not if you kidnap me."

Artemis grinned in approval. "Oh, she's gonna fit in great."

* * *

"M'gann…" Black Canary's voice called cautiously, "The bioship wasn't authorized for departure…"

"We kidnapped Zatanna!" M'gann replied in excitement. I slapped my forehead as she looked at me, realizing what she'd said. I waved my hands and she stuttered her words out. "To…show her around Happy Harbor! Be back soon!"

"…" BC didn't say anything for a moment, "Roger that…have fun."

The communication between the cave and the bioship cut off and M'gann and I sighed. "You've _got_ to work on those lying skills." I said with a chuckle as we grinned at each other.

"So where are we going?" Wally asked, looking to Robin.

"Batman's the world's greatest detective, and he's searched in every logical location. If we're gonna do better, we're going to need an illogical solution." He turned his seat to look at KF, "A truly _dumb_ idea."

KF raised an eyebrow before looking around to see everyone staring at him for the solution. He grinned, resting his hand on his chest, "As a matter of fact…"

* * *

"Dr. Strange owes us for last month's prison break, so he's given us five minutes with _you_."

"Spill Ivo! How do we find T. O. Morrow and his Reds?"

I had to admit, the Supermartian team up wasn't a bad one; if it were anyone but Ivo, they probably would have had the bad guy pooping in his pants!

Ivo sat in front of us in a Belle Rev interrogation room. He leaned back in his chair, unimpressed. "Now why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?"

"Because," Kid said, walking up beside Miss Martian, "And here's a truly dumb idea: you're Morrow's biggest competitor in the evil android game. Who's better to keep track of what he's up to, and where."

Kid Flash was silly, but he had a good brain in that head of his…somewhere.

"Ah," Ivo said, lacing his fingers, "I see your point. So let me rephrase."

He sent a glare to all of us, "Why would I _tell_ you how to find Morrow?"

Kaldur stepped forward and looked at M'gann. "He knows. Do what you must." M'gann's eyes glowed green, but Ivo only laughed.

"Oh please, like I haven't faced a telepath before!"

Suddenly Zatanna was beside him, chanting a spell. Ivo's mouth opened and he told us the specific location of T. O. Morrow. He covered his mouth when he finished and looked at Zatanna with wide eyes. "Wait…what just happened?"

"You're like Robin's opposite!" I said with a laugh as I patted her shoulder, "Instead of disappearing, you appear!"

"Dude!" Robin whispered to me with a growl. I shook off his glare as Zatanna, Artemis and I giggled.

We headed back to the bioship and made our way to the Yellow Stone National Park, where Morrow's base was. Kaldur gave instructions immediately. "Block out all external communication. Soon Black Canary and Zatara,"

He paused, "And Batman, I imagine, will know of our visit with Professor Ivo. We haven't much time."

"Hey," Robin pulled Zatanna's attention to him again, "I'm trying to be as nonchalant as possible here…"

"Why?" She asked with a smile, "Be as chalant as you like."

Oh. Oh they both liked messing with words. There was more than a connection there.

Artemis brought them back to the matter at hand. "I think we're just trying to get a handle on your powers. Could you teleport us to Tornado, or put Morrow in a cell? Or force his bots to surrender?"

"Or create peace on Earth for all time?" Zatanna asked with a chuckle, "Zatara couldn't even do all that, and I'm nowhere near on my dad's level. I need to know a spell cold, or else I won't have time to prep it."

"Who knew magic was so difficult?" I said, crossing my arms. Supey growled, annoyed by our conversation.

"What's our ETA to Yellow Stone? I am way past ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor."

"I think you need to calm down a little there, Supey." I suggested, "Remember what happened last time you didn't control your anger?"

He looked away from me in silence before Kaldur spoke. "Are you so certain he betrayed us?"

"Aren't you?" Conner screamed. Kaldur looked away.

"I am not convinced. And even so, that makes him the victim of his creator's programing. Certainly he deserves a chance to prove he is the weapon others designed him to be.

I rolled my head to the side, "But is it possible for Red to override his programming?" I questioned. Kaldur looked to me, nodding.

"We shall know when we arrive."

And so we finished our ride to the Yellow Stone park. Kaldur suggested stealth mode, and I squealed lightly. "I've been waiting for this!"

I looked down at my belt buckle, which was a round pendant with Greek-like wind symbols on it. It came along with the pants, and it switched my pants from white to black. I pressed it and it changed; it was weird! I could feel the electric flow in the fabric spread out around my pants.

When I finished, I grinned victoriously. Kaldur gave me a smile before he looked towards Zatanna. I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. The new girl got all the attention today.

"I suggest you stay behind." He said to the blue eyed doll.

"Is that an order?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, but Kaldur shook his head.

"No, you must do as you see fit."

"Good!" She said before chanting a spell. She changed into a magician's outfit, minus the pants. I felt my jealously rash out towards her but I kept it in. She had eyes for Robin, I reminded myself.

We dropped from the hatchet and made our way closer to the base underground. We were almost there when a strong gust of wind attacked us. After falling on our backs, we looked up to see Red Tornado standing in his tornado in front of us. He said nothing, and kept his arms crossed. Miss Martian cried out to him, "Why, Tornado? Why are you doing this?"

When he didn't respond, she looked around at the tornados. Her eyes widened and she looked at the team. "_Look at what he's spelling in the ground!"_

I looked at the corner of my eye, seeing the words _Play Dead_ etched down clearly. I nodded at her and she nodded back. _"Everybody, message received?"_

Aqualad and Conner ran forward to attack Tornado while M'gann and I flew in the air behind him. He threw Kaldur back onto Superboy and threw MM onto Kid Flash. I dodged his grip for only a moment before he threw me down onto Zatanna with a smaller tornado. I groaned.

_He could have been gentler…_

Regardless, I lay on the ground in silence, as did the rest of the team. A deep, robotic voice spoke from above. "An impressive performance, brother…but we both know that that was all that it was. I have your memories, as well as your next gen processor. I knew your next move before you did."

There was the crumbling of something and I dared to open my eye. There was another brother of Tornado…this one looked like he was a volcano.

He had lifted Red Tornado's warning into the air, and was sending the rocks towards us. I lashed my hair around a piece that flew towards me and Zatanna, and heard Robin call out her name to insure her safety. _"I'm okay, but Tornado's getting away!"_

"_Is he abandoning us?"_ Artemis called as she released an arrow.

"_I don't believe that!" _M'gann said before flying closer to the android in front of us. We continued to fight against him, but it proved to be no use. He was using Tornado's memories of us to predict our every move…we were powerless.

Suddenly something wrapped around his eyes, and proved him blind for a moment. I looked behind me to see Zatanna grinning. "Red Tornado didn't know my moves!"

Her whip didn't do much compared to his eye lasers. As he shot his beams through his eyes, a volcano erupted behind him. I gasped, looking at him with wide eyes. "Oh crap."

"You cannot defeat me," The android called as he fought us off, "You are no longer the top of the food chain."

I growled until I heard Kaldur grunt. I looked to the side to see him backing away from the fire, his feet jumping off the ground. "Kaldur!"

I ran over to him quickly and wrapped my hair around his feet. I grinned with tinted cheeks. "Sorry, but hair socks will have to do for now." I cut off the stands and he thanked me.

"Be careful not to be burned yourself," He reminded me as we returned to the fight. When we stood in front of the android, he was suddenly hit by a wave behind Kaldur. I grinned, celebrating the hit.

"Nice one!" Robin called.

"The hit was not mine—look!" We looked to his left to see the water android rising. He attacked his brother, sending him further into the lava. The female android attacked him also, and the two sank into the lava with him to ensure his death there. Tornado slammed his feet down, helping his siblings in taking down the fallen android. Superboy pulled him out, though, to save him.

We had no time to celebrate. The volcano was already approaching stage three according to Wally. He asked for Tornado's help, and after Artemis blew up pinpointed locations, Red flew high into the sky and directed the ash from the volcano out of the atmosphere. The lava cooled down as we held our breath.

"Is it over?" I asked after a moment of silent. Tornado fell from the sky and we ran to him quickly. "Red Tornado! Are you alright?"

He didn't answer me with words, but instead nodded. When we realized he couldn't speak, he directed us to the base, and had Robin fix his voice system. We stared at him, all wrought with guilt.

"You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the planet." Aqualad said, approaching him. Red turned to look at him.

"The planet would have survived; it is humanity that was saved. Though not by me," Kaldur rested his arm on RT's shoulder, "My sister and brother were the true heroes this day."

I nodded, standing beside Kaldur. "They have our thanks, and we owe them our lives."

"My point is this," Kaldur said, returning to the point of his comment, "You were never the mole; never the traitor."

"No. I left to protect you from further attack, and to find my creator, Morrow."

Robin and Kid Flash waved robotic limbs from the corner, insisting that they upgrade Tornado. He felt that he should not be updated.

Conner turned from his emo corner and yelled at the robot. "Why did you volunteer to be our den mother in the first place?"

"I do not require all the maintenance of a normal superhero; I was the best fit." He replied simply.

"But you do have advanced AI programing designed to learn and adapt!" I chuckled as Wally pulled the fingers on of the robotic hands as he listed Red's attributes.

"Hello Meagan!" She slapped her forehead, "You wanted to become more human!"

"And you couldn't do _that_ with the league; they're stiffs!" Artemis said with a chuckle.

"You're sure not going to learn emotions from Batman, trust me." Robin snickered.

"Then the cave was not only improving ground for us, but for you as well."

"I do not know if these statements are true," Red Tornado said, "But if I am accurate, I have come to…care…for you all, if the term is correct."

I smiled, tapping the T on his chest. "That's our den mother!"

"See? Practically a meat bag already." Conner commented with a poker face. I smiled, knowing that his anger was gone despite the avoiding glances.

* * *

"So how long do you think it'll be until those two begin dating?" I asked, leaning forward to Kaldur with a chuckle as Robin asked if the kidnapping was 'good' or not from the other side of the bioship.

When Kaldur didn't reply, I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He stared at me, as if waiting for me to realize something. "What?"

He turned to me all the way, his hand on his chin. "I believe that 'dating' is something we should be asking ourselves, Angie, before we concern ourselves with another's love life."

I turned red, realizing what he was getting at, and shoved my hands beneath my thighs as I twirled around in my chair. "W-well…that…isn't it…we're…official, right?"

He smiled at me, pulling my hand into his. "I would like that very much."

I smiled back, squeezing his hand before he spoke again. "How would you like our first outing to be in Atlantis?" My smile widened as I nodded happily.

"I'd love it!"


	19. Chapter 19

"Which one do you think is cuter?"

I pushed a dress off of my torso and pulled a skirt and shirt combo into its place. M'gann raised an eyebrow, her hand on her chin. "I like the dress, but you may want to just wear pants…you don't want your dress to flow up to your waist!"

I blushed, my hand on my cheek as I nodded. "T-that's true. Thanks for helping me pick out my outfit, M'gann."

Today was the day I'd be going with Kaldur to Atlantis. I made sure he held his word; I really wanted to see his home…and I couldn't help but want to meet this Tula girl. I openly admit that I am a territorial girlfriend.

"No problem!" She said with a giggle, "I'm so glad you two are together; now Conner and I aren't the only couple!"

I grinned, M'gann having told me about their relationship when I told her about my upcoming date. "Now if only Wally and Artemis would get together…and Robin and Zatanna, too." She sighed, nodding.

"At first I thought it'd be really weird for Wally and Artemis to get together…but the chemistry is definitely there when you look closely."

We continued our conversation as I decided on my outfit. Then Wally banged on my door. He leapt in once it opened and I frowned when I saw his uniform. "Oh no…don't tell me…"

"Yup, surprise training! Batman says you've got five minutes to get ready and get out here!" Wally said before zooming out. He side stepped Kaldur, who was also in his uniform. M'gann left us and I flashed a smile in her direction as she left. I looked back to Kaldur.

"So…I guess we'll have to postpone this trip then, huh?"

He nodded, taking my hand in his and apologizing. "I should have asked Batman for the plans today. It is my fault."

"No it's not." I said with a sigh as I ruffled my hair, "Wally said it was a surprise training…you couldn't have done anything to stop him."

I gave him a smile to let him know I wasn't too upset, and he smiled back, tracing his hand down my cheek. I leaned my cheek closer to his hand as I gazed up at him. We would have kissed if it hadn't been for that sneaky boy wonder.

"You've got a choice," We turned to him in surprise, "Either you spend your last three minutes K-I-S-S-I-N-G, or you get R-E-A-D-Y."

He snickered as my face turned red and then left to join the rest of the team. Kaldur followed him after sending me a quick smile, and soon I met with them all in a back room. It was beside the garage, furnished with steel tables organized into a circle. Everyone was standing beside one and, as if reserved, the last table was situated beside Kaldur. I smiled to him as I took my place by his side before looking to Batman and M'gann's uncle J'onn.

"Today's exercise will be a scenario. Martian Manhunter will be linking your minds together, so that you will perform this mission together in your minds." Batman explained.

I crossed my arms, finding that I was more upset about this than I thought, before I sighed, trying to let it go. Everyone began to lie down, but Kaldur took hold of my shoulder as I sat on the table. "Perhaps, after this, there will still be time."

I smiled, my heart skipping a beat in excitement. "Okay!"

* * *

I opened my eyes and we were standing together as a group in the mission room. I looked around, seeing everyone there, before looking ahead of me to see Red Tornado standing in front of a holographic screen.

There was a large ship on that screen, and it wasn't manmade. I could see the Green Lanterns flying towards it, and they stopped at its front. After only seconds, they were hit by a beam of light, and destroyed. My mouth dropped open as Batman and the others flew towards the machine to attack it. They fell just as quickly. Silence filled the room as the hologram switched over to Zatara. He looked to Red Tornado.

"Tornado…did you—"

"Yes, Zatara, we saw. The celestial defenses have failed." Red said with no space in between, "Initiate full terrestrial defense measures."

"Affirmative; I will see you in the field." Zatara said before the hologram closed. Tornado turned to us.

"I must join the league. We will protect the planet at all costs. But should we fail…the responsibility belongs to you."

Kaldur looked to all of us before looking at Tornado again. "We stand ready."

Red Tornado left, and I looked over at Wally. "This is so real…it's really weird."

"It's because it's in your head." M'gann explained, "Everyone is connecting their minds…so together we're painting a very, very real picture."

"Huh, go figure." I said, shrugging before turning to see the holographic television come on again. It showed the League fighting against the aliens' ships, which had fallen to the cities of our world. Zatara and the Flash were there, we saw, when they saved Iris West-Allen the reporter and her camera man. I crossed my arms, feeling slightly nervous. What if this were to really happen?

I took a deep breath and looked forward again, watching the League fall to the aliens. We all looked at each other. I felt a swelling panic in my chest, but continued to remind myself that everything was okay. It was just a mission. We'd pull out of it like we always did.

"Tornado to Cave." I lifted my head as Tornado contacted us. We could hear explosions as he spoke. "I fear I am all that remains of the League. You must—"

Robin stepped forward, "RT!"

He didn't respond. We watched through the holograms as multiple cities began to burn, being overrun by the alien attacks. Kaldur spoke after a moment of silence. "We are the heroes now."

"So what are we waiting for?" Superboy asked, "A theme song?"

"A strategy," Kaldur responded, "Our Earth defenses have not been affective. And it has been tragically clear that a direct attack will not succeed."

Robin looked at his wrist hologram, "Checking satellite imagery." A large globe appeared, red spots appearing on all the continents.

"Here's where the aliens are now."

Conner stepped up, "Did this one get lost?" The globe turned, revealing a small dot standing alone and away from the other aliens.

"That's Superman's fortress of solitude!" Robin declared with wide eyes.

"Superman has a fortress of solitude?" Superboy asked, eyebrows raising in surprise.

"The power must have attracted them to it," Robin explained, "At least enough to send a scout force to investigate it."

Superboy turned, "Must be some fortress…"

Miss Martian rested her hand on his shoulder, "Conner…" He insisted that it was okay, and that there'd always be a lot about Superman he would never know.

Kaldur returned to the problem at hand, "We will target this lone ship."

"Yeah!" KF pounded his fist into his open hand, "We can break it down; build more! Hit those ugly aliens with their own mojo!"

Artemis elbowed his rib cage, "Martian and Kryptonian in the house!" We looked over to our two aliens, who responded with a silent stare at our team's clown.

"Uh," Wally laughed, "Not that all aliens are ugly."

We headed out, dressed in snow white clothes for camouflage. I picked at my turtleneck in silence as we headed over. No one was talking much now.

We settled the bioship, and hid around the targeted ship. Miss Martian cut off its communication, while Artemis blocked its view. It began to shoot its laser in random directions until Kaldur broke it under the water. The laser turned towards him and I felt panic rise. "Kaldur look out!"

He covered his head, ready to take the hit, until Wolf jumped in, swinging the machine around. Superboy jumped over, holding it down. I sighed in relief as I flew over with Robin in my arms. I dropped him off and landed beside Kaldur, smiling quickly before focusing on the job at hand. Robin had Miss Martian break off the laser in specific places so that we could use the laser again for the bioship. Superboy was focusing on pulling the gun off the ship, so he failed to notice the escaping laser behind him. Wolf took the hit, shoving Superboy out of the way. We stared with wide eyes as nothing was left of Conner's pet. Robin looked at him, _"T…there was no indication of feedback…I'm sorry."_

Superboy stared at the ground for a moment before lifting his head back up, _"There's nothing we can do now; let's go."_

We pulled the laser and carried it over. I held it down for M'gann as she began to connect the machines together. _"I'll need a couple of minutes."_

"_We may not have a few minutes."_ Robin warned, two ships coming in.

"_Miss Martian, open fire!"_ Kaldur commanded. MM explained that she couldn't, since the laser was being processed and the bioship couldn't move yet.

"_Gotcha covered, get inside!"_ Artemis called, standing in front of us and hitting the ships with her arrows. They crashed, falling down into the snow and I fist pumped the air as she ran back towards us.

"_Good hit!"_ I said with a grin until I saw a laser charging behind her. My face paled as I screamed for her to watch out. She turned, shooting an arrow into the laser before it swallowed her whole.

I let go of the laser that the bioship had been morphing with as M'gann screamed her name as well. Kaldur told us to get inside as he knocked the ship into the air and destroyed it with ice shards. None of us moved.

Kid stared at the remains of the ship, his eyes wide and his voice shaking. "They're dead…every single one of them…if it's the last thing I do!"

Everyone made their way inside, but I stood on the top of the ship in shock. "A-Artemis…no…" Why had I been so calm about this mission? What was wrong with me? Artemis, my teammate, my friend, was dead. She was gone, forever.

What about my father and Lae? Chad, Jamie? Were they alright? I was terrified to learn otherwise; I was terrified of the truth.

Kaldur pulled me inside the bioship and I fell to my knees. When I wouldn't respond to him, he grabbed me by the shoulders with a tight grip. "You will perish as well if you do not focus. Get up, and continue like we always have, Angie. You must."

He stood up as we began to fly, while Kid was slamming his hands on the control counter and M'gann was crying. I stood up to sit in my chair in silence as he spoke. "There will be time to morn later. Right now, we defend the Earth, and make sure Artemis's sacrifice was not in vain…"

M'gann wiped her tears and she looked up at him, "So…back to the cave?"

"No…to the Hall of Justice." We all looked up at this point as he continued to speak with narrowed eyes, "The human race must know that there are still heroes fighting for them. There is still hope."

I narrowed my own eyes to the ground before turning to face the window. Was there really hope?

* * *

"They're really gone…"

We looked up at the fallen pieces of the now previous Justice League. All of the tall statues of our heroes had crumbled and fallen during the invasion…now only their bodies remained.

There was a group of military officers outside, and a few of them came inside to stay near us. I looked at them before looking to the ground, and then back up at the fallen figures. I looked to Hawkwoman's statue specifically; one wing missing completely while her head rested at her feet below with a crack running down the middle of her helmet. I looked away, and to Kaldur, who was looking at his King.

To think, earlier this morning we were going to go on a date in Atlantis. I may have met him personally. If it hadn't been for these aliens…we would be there by now, and he would be alive. Everyone would be alive.

I made a motion to go comfort Kaldur, but stayed back when he turned away. I had thought that he was alright, especially when we had been sending out the message to the rest of the world to remain hopeful. He demonstrated his strong leading skills, but afterwards, his eyes had remained on the ground if he wasn't talking to anyone. But, I still kept my distance; as he said, there'd be another time for mourning, and I didn't want to create any more problems for him.

Suddenly Miss Martian, who had been holding her uncle's statue head in her hands, flew away from it. She lifted it up quickly to reveal Martian Manhunter holding his head. "Uncle J'onn!" She cried, flying towards him with her arms open.

Kaldur held his hand out as he blocked her path, "Miss Martian, check his mind to make sure he is really who he appears to be."

"I'm sure of it," she said joyfully, "That's Uncle J'onn!"

She helped him up as he moaned, and we questioned how he was alive. We had seen the Martian perish when Superman and Batman had…it didn't add up.

"Maybe you were density shifting when the laser went off, and the beam passed through you!" M'gann suggested.

Robin smiled, "And it scrambled your brain so you don't remember!"

Martian Manhunter groaned, holding his head, "Maybe…my mind is clouded…but, I feel that I had something important to tell you…"

"_Hello Wally!"_

We turned as Wally hit his head like M'gann usually did before pulling Robin outside suddenly. We could hear his voice a few minutes later. _"See? This thing radiates Zama beams; the same stuff our Zeta tubes use! This thing doesn't disintegrate—it teleports!"_

I looked at Kaldur with wide eyes, a smile growing on my lips. _"Then that means…"_

"_Artemis is alive!" _Flash said happily.

"_Maybe, but…"_ KF cut off Robin.

"_No maybes! They're all alive!"_

"That must have been what you wanted to tell us!" M'gann said to her uncle. He held his head as if unsure, but I could care less. I covered my mouth with my hands as I finally let tears run down my cheeks.

"T-thank god…" I blinked as I heard something. I looked up through the shattered glass of the hall to see ships approaching. They shot down at Robin and Kid Flash, and the military that were stationed there. Kaldur called that we would come help fight, but Robin rejected the thought. _"We won't win this! We need to fall back! M'gann, call the bioshi—"_

The aliens shot at our ship right when they called for it, and M'gann and her Uncle flew pack. She screamed in pain and Superboy rushed to her side. "M'gann!"

He flipped her over and she stared at the ceiling, tears streaking down her cheeks. "That…didn't feel like—"

"Everyone, this way!" Kaldur called. I helped Martian Manhunter up and we made our way through the door Kaldur had opened. He asked Martian Manhunter if he could send us through the zeta tubes to the Cave.

"I can only do one at a time." He responded, nodding, "But it can be done."

"Send the soldiers first."

"Negative! You are assets we cannot lose!" The general screamed, "You go!"

Kaldur and the general stared at each other before Kaldur nodded to the Manhunter. We started moving to the cave, but after Kid Flash passed through an alien ship broke made its way into the hall. It began to hit many of the soldiers, and Superboy stopped to save one of the soldiers who was caught underneath rubble. I stayed to the side with Martian Manhunter as Superboy carried the soldier over to the zeta tube and soon followed. Kaldur looked at Manhunter and began to push the two of us towards the transporter. "They need you more than me, go!"

The way he was talking sent me into a panic. I let manhunter go, but then turned to Kaldur with tears filling my eyes. I took hold of his arms; I knew what he was doing, but I wish I didn't. "Kaldur, you go too! I'll hold them off—"

He began to push me towards the tube in silence but I latched my hair around him and twirled us around so that we switched places. As the transporter began to spin, he cut my hair off with his sword, and pushed me in at the last second. I cried out as he looked at me, mouthing something I couldn't understand. I watched in horror as his flesh turned into a yellow light. His bones twitched as he was hit, and that was the last I saw of Kaldur.

* * *

I screamed as I came out on the other side, tears falling freely from my cheeks. I hit the floor repeatedly as I shook my head. Robin came to my side but I pushed him away. He took hold of me by force this time and made eye contact. "Calm down! We have to keep moving. We have people to save."

I stared at him with wide eyes, shaking my head. "K-Kaldur…"

"The worst case scenario is that he's being held captive like Artemis;" Wally said with a smile, helping me up. I sniffed, wiping my eyes (although pointless since they were quickly replaced) and nodded slowly. Miss Martian led me over to the group, her hands on my shoulders. Robin began to make the next plan.

I stood in the back, unable to get the image of him out of my head. Kaldur's flesh turning into light…his bones shaking with what I hoped to be anything but pain. With Artemis I hadn't been so close to see the damage—but Kaldur was right before my eyes when he was transported. It was a horrible memory. I shook the thoughts out of my head…it sounded like he was actually…like he had passed.

I took hold of my arm; I couldn't even say it. And I wouldn't.

Robin grabbed my attention. "We have to get the mother ship, which is where Smallville used to be."

I stared at the ship in the hologram, the alien mother load that had taken my boyfriend away. I felt my body begin to shake even more, my vision blurring as I stared at it. My eyes were widening as my eyebrows arched in anger. I tore myself out of M'gann's grip and walked forward. "I'm going to kill them all after we get Kaldur back."

M'gann stared at me with wide eyes alongside Robin before we stepped into action. After a minute of convincing, Superboy agreed to become the distraction while we went in to find everyone and destroy the ship itself.

I continued on, relying on the hope of seeing Kaldur again after all of this was over.

* * *

We found the ship, and Superboy did his thing. M'gann and J'onn went inside ahead of us, and when the coast was clear, I flew KF and Robin in. We reunited with M'gann and J'onn and moved forward. M'gann stumbled on the way and we stopped for a moment as her uncle caught her. She looked at me with a panicked face.

"_No…he's gone."_

My heart nearly dropped out of my chest. I could only look away and turn around. I could hear her sobbing behind me, and I bit my lip. KF tried to console her. _"It's okay, we'll find him—and Artemis! They're all okay."_

"_No,"_ I turned to look at Martian Manhunter as he shook his head. My eyes widened in panic. _"My mind is clearer now. The disintegration beam is just that— there is no detention facility. There are no prisoners; our mission holds no purpose."_

"_No, you're wrong! The Zama radiation proves she's alive!"_ Kid Flash cried, _"She's—"_

"_Stop it KF!"_ Robin grabbed his collar and pulled him close, _"I've been scanning for team and league signals since we got inside. They're not here. Artemis is gone."_

"_N-no…but then that means…Kaldur…"_ I held in my cries although tears began to fall again. I shook my head, falling to my knees. I stared at the ground, my eyes constantly blurred by my weeping. _"They took him…they took Kaldur…"_

"_Our mission still has a purpose; to destroy the mother ship."_ Robin said from above me_, "We can still win, but we have to destroy that power source."_

"I…I will avenge him." I whispered to myself. I stood up with the help of my wings, and I lifted my head to look at Robin and the others. _"I'm going to clear the way. Follow behind me quickly and destroy this ship."_

Robin tried to grab my arm, but I took off quickly. I flew down the corridor and began to destroy all of the aliens in my path. I brought my hair around them, smashing them together and throwing their mechanics to the ground. The center piece of the next room, which I figured was the power source, began to pull me in. I latched onto a solid platform and let out a scream, attracting all of the machines' attention.

"_Robin go now!"_ I called telepathically as I fought off multiple attackers. I could see them reaching it with M'gann and J'onn's help. Robin placed the bombs, and they flew up with M'gann and J'onn. M'gann called for me, heading my way before her uncle pulled her back.

"_Angie, come on!" _She knew what was going to happen, but she was fighting it all the way.

"_Don't worry about me!" _I said, continuing to fight off the murderers, _"Just go! I'll be right behind you!"_

I could see her at the corner of my eye, debating if I was being honest or not, but when Robin called her she followed.

I closed my eyes, my rage flowing into a deep sadness. I was scared and alone…but I knew it wouldn't be for long. I fell down onto another platform nearby and opened my eyes, screeching to raise my powers. My eyes glowed yellow and I successfully turned many of the aliens to stone. They fell down onto the power source below and I fell to my knees, weak.

I began to wonder why my vision wasn't returning to a normal tone when I realized a laser was coming towards me.

_Daddy, Lae…_

I took the hit, feeling my body go numb from the pain in seconds.

_Jamie, Chad…_

He was the last thing on my mind.

_Kaldur…_

And then, everything went black.

* * *

I moaned, coughing and turning onto my side. I opened an eye, everything blurry as I tried to figure out where I was. I saw red and blue beside me, and I rubbed my eyes to see what it was. I realized it was the Atlantian I thought was dead. We both looked at each other, our eyes wide.

I looked around, everyone waking up. I was confused beyond belief, but was too happy to see all of my teammates alive. I stood up to meet Kaldur, only to fall to my knees.

He helped me up as Batman spoke. "What happened in there?" Batman helped J'onn stand as he moaned.

"The exercise…it all went wrong."

"Exercise?" Robin asked, wiping his sweating forehead. I sat down with Kaldur, still not letting go of his arms as Batman told us to try and remember.

"What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter mentally linked the six of you and placed you in an artificial reality. You all knew this going in…but what you didn't know was that it was a train-for-failure exercise."

"What do you mean, train-for-failure?" I asked, shivering as I sat down beside Kaldur.

"The situation would grow worse whenever you accomplished something," Batman said with narrowed eyes, "You could not win. But even then, you were aware that it was not real. Including the deaths of the entire Justice League."

"That is why you did not grieve, even when Wolf disintegrated before your very eyes," Manhunter explained, "But all of that changed when Artemis died."

We looked at the blonde, who stared at her knees intensely. I shivered again and leaned closer to Kaldur. "But…why? Why did we forget so easily?"

"Miss Martian consciously knew that it was an exercise…but her subconscious became distressed and took control, causing everyone to forget as well."

We all looked at our Martian teammate in silence until Superboy came to her defense. "This isn't her fault! Why didn't you stop the exercise?"

"We tried." Manhunter explained, "But M'gann had a death grip on the scenario. Even Artemis, who was supposed to wake up at her death, was so convinced that she fell into Acoma."

"Oh my god…" I whispered, covering my mouth.

"I went in to stop it, but I was too overwhelmed by all of your collective emotion. There was…too much _noise_ to think clearly." That had been why I suddenly started freaking out after she died…it was all slowly coming back to me.

"When Aqualad and Superboy died, things began to come back clearly. But only after Medusa, Kid Flash and Robin died in the explosion was when I was able to remember what I had come to do—to shock M'gann out of the exercise…before your comas became permanent."

We sat in silence for a moment, everyone looking down. Kaldur pulled his arm from around me and held his hands together; I gave him the space, although I yearned to hold his hand for my sake. I was still shaking.

"My apologies," Manhunter said, "I had no idea that an exercise would be so dangerous…so damaging."

We looked to M'gann, who was facing away from us, but clearly holding her head in her hand as she leaned on the table. Marvel went over to her, and Superboy quickly followed. I looked down at my hands, remembering the burning sensation of my death. I quickly gripped my hands together like Kaldur, and hanged my head as I tried to calm down.

It was just an exercise…just a practice…but I had never been more terrified in my life. I looked around to everyone as they stood alone.

I looked to Kaldur again, about to say something, when I saw a flash of yellow. My eyes widened as I stood up. He looked at me in confusion, but I turned to walk away. I could see it still…his dying face, and his burning skin.

I soon found myself suddenly uncomfortable to be beside Kaldur in this silence. I walked a couple of steps farther from him. He did not bother me, and I was not bothered that he didn't.


	20. Chapter 20

Ha ha ha wow, I did not expect you guys to be so bummed out from the last chapter! xD Sorry to depress you guys! I swear it'll get happier again!

Sorry this chapter was so horribly late. I couldn't get my message across like I wanted; it was frustrating! But good news: I'm done with school! I have until September 9th to write as much as I like! My goal is to finish season one before I leave for Japan.

Oh, and **QUESTION**: would any of you be interested in a tumblr for this story? I have art work and extras that I never put into the story (but kept) that I think you'd like to see! Let me know, and I'll make one if the demand is high enough.

Enjoy this chapter (chapter 20 woooo)!

* * *

There was a knock on my door. "What do you want for dinner?" I tightened the grip on my pillow and sat in silence as my dad opened my door.

"I'm not hungry; eat without me." Usually he'd stand there until he got an answer as to why I was lying in bed at three in the afternoon, but this time he actually gave me some space by nodding and closing the door without another word.

I flipped over, bringing the pillow along with me. In hopes of getting some sleep (I hadn't been able to get much since the last mission), I closed my eyes only to see Kaldur's burning skin shine in my memory. With a gasp I sat up, feeling cold sweat run down my forehead. "It's never going to go away…"

I hadn't been to the cave in almost a week…not that it mattered. With no mission to force communication, we merely sat in rooms, sometimes together, but sometimes alone. I couldn't fight the fact that Kaldur and I hadn't spoken more than hellos like the rest of the team. I found it hard to even look at him…the longer things went this way, the bigger the distance between us became.

It was horrible, considering I the one thing I didn't want was to be distanced from him…but I was terrified to see that vision any more than I already did. And I didn't want to bother him with my problems…it was clear that he was having problems of his own.

My phone vibrated and I pulled it from beneath the covers to see a text from Chad. In order to get his help getting into his school before, he had required that I give him my cell phone number again. I read his text, which included a story from his day (he'd been sending me daily doses of amusing things). I found myself smiling, but it quickly turned into a frown when I realized how dead I felt.

I replied to his text with a simple lol and closed the phone before digging my face into the pillow. He didn't reply for a while, and then my phone began to ring. I looked at it with a blink, only to see it was him again. I considered not picking it up, but suddenly I wanted to hear someone's voice—anyone's voice.

"…hello?" I cleared my throat, which was already clamming up. Chad didn't answer for a second.

"Angie…? Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," I said with a chuckle, "It's just…been a long two weeks."

"Oh." He didn't say anything else, and sat in silence.

I tried to break the silence. "So what did you call for?"

Once again, he didn't answer right away. He knew something was up. "You usually send more than just lol in a text message…so I was worried that something was wrong."

I took in a deep breath as I gripped my pillow. "Is something wrong, Angie?"

"Chad," I mumbled into the phone, tears filling up my eyes, "I don't want to be alone right now."

As I choked out sniffles, Chad stayed on the phone in silence. He didn't say anything until I quieted down. "Hey…wanna meet up and do something?"

* * *

I felt the cool water on my ankles and sighed, wrapping my jacket closer to my torso. October had been pretty warm, surprisingly, even though it was now the twenty second. But now it was starting to get a little chilly. It probably wasn't a good idea to have my feet in water, but the ocean was warmer than the sand on the beach.

"So do you want to talk about it?"

I kept my eyes on the waves coming from the ocean, and I tightened my grip on my jacket. I could see Chad's shadow, stretching from beside me. I shrugged lightly and continued to stare at the seawater. "Not particularly."

"You seemed pretty beaten up about it; are you sure?"

"I was just a little upset." I said in a warning voice, glaring at him before looking to the liquid at my feet again, "I was just…irritated."

"At Kaldur?" He pressed, as if I hadn't been angry just a moment ago. Sometimes he was really clueless. "Did he do something stupid? Cause I can go teach him a lesson—"

"Kaldur didn't do anything!" He reeled back from my yelp as I leaned towards him. I sighed, pulling back and shaking my head. "He…he didn't do anything wrong at all…he saved my life."

"Wait—saved your life?! What happened?"

I shook my hands in the air, "I-I mean, in a mental training we did! He sacrificed himself to save my life…and I saw him…die." The word came out of my mouth and I shivered. I had been avoiding it as much as possible…but now that I had said it, fear took over my body once again. I covered my mouth as I felt a knot form in my throat. Chad wrapped his arms around me as he realized I was breaking my limit. I moved my hands to cover my face, shaking my head.

I didn't want to lose Kaldur; in fact I had never wanted to be so close to him before. But seeing his death every time I looked at him was too much; I couldn't do it. And so I was stuck in a frustrating limbo of wanting to be there for him, and wanting to run away from the fact that he could die at any moment in this superhero business. We all could.

Chad wiped a tear away from my cheek as we separated. I pulled away from his hand, wiping the tears on my own. "I'm so confused."

"Angie…why are you still a superhero?" Chad crossed his arms. I blinked, looking up at him. "Maybe you should hang up the cape."

"What?" I stared at him, surprised.

He continued as he threw his hand in the air, "Don't you think all of these problems would go away if you did?"

"Just because times are hard right now doesn't mean it isn't worth it." I said, shaking my head.

"But how do you know this isn't going to happen again?" He pressed, "How do you know you're not going to see something like this…but for real?"

"You don't understand," snapped, "I watched him die in front of me, and I did _nothing_ to try and save him! But he saved my life, and I want to—"

"But it wasn't real!" He retorted, eyebrows now burrowed, "You've got to get over it and get out before it's too late—"

"I don't need you telling me what to do!" I began to walk back towards the sidewalk on the hill of the beach, "I wouldn't give them up, even if I lost my own life!"

"Come back and talk about it!" He called. When I continued to walk in silence, I could hear him kicking the sand.

"I came here to see you, you know!" He yelled after me, "I've done all of these things for you, and you always just walk away from me!"

"I thought you were my friend!" I said, spinning to face him, "You're just trying to make me leave what I love!"

"What?" He asked with a raised eyebrow before pushing his hands towards me, "Wait, I think you're just really angry—"

"If you come to see me just because you want to get a date out of me, then you were wasting your time!" I stopped, immediately feeling guilty as the words came out of my mouth. He had driven an hour and a half to meet me here, and I knew very well that it wasn't to get a date. He cared, even though he was impatient.

He stomped off to his car without another word. As he sped off, I could hear his music blasting out of his convertible. I opened my phone and sent him a text before walking back towards the zeta tube.

"_Sorry."_

* * *

I arrived at the cave with a frown and baggy eyes. Now not only Kaldur was on my mind, but Chad too. He hadn't replied to my text message, or the two following it. I sighed, but stood up straight when Artemis came through the transporter to my left. "Hey."

I nodded to her and we headed towards the kitchen. Everyone was gathered there, M'gann mixing something while everyone else literally stood around. I kept my head down as I made my way to the seat behind Wally. Artemis leaned on the couch. We stayed like this for at least an hour. Then I decided to make my way to my old room.

I had moved some stuff back in, in case I ever needed to spend the night. The bed was made and I plopped down onto it with a sigh. I checked my phone…no messages. With another sigh I sat up and stared at the text messages Chad had sent me before my blow out. There was a knock on my door and I called for them to come in. The door slid open and Black Canary stood in front of me calmly. I stood up, dropping my phone onto the bed as I approached her. "Is there a mission?"

"Not quite." She said with a small smile as she stepped to the side so that I could join her outside of the room, "Let's talk for a little, shall we?"

* * *

I shifted, uncomfortable under Black Canary's gaze. I wasn't usually like this with her or anything, but right now I knew what she was going to ask me about so I was tense. This was a trauma session.

"I wanted to talk to you about the last mission."

Called it.

"Oh…well, what about it?" I asked, keeping my eyes on my crossed hands. I smiled a little but couldn't bring myself to look at her.

"Well, we could start with Kaldur's death." I tensed up at the topic, and closed my eyes to take in a couple of deep breaths. She leaned forward. "Angie, I know that you and Kaldur began to see each other only a couple of days before the mission. And I know you're bothered about it, especially since you were so close as he was dying—"

"Stop!" I covered my ears and lowered my head, "Please…don't use that word…don't talk about it so casually…I can't take it."

"Angie…" She placed her hand on my knee and I looked up at her with a shaken gaze, "Talk to me."

I stared at her for a moment, unwilling at first, but when she gave me a small smile I sat up slowly. She nodded lightly, "If you don't, you'll never move on."

I sighed, nodding as I brought my knees up to my chest. "…Every time I look at him, I see his skin boiling. I see his pained face as he's standing in front of me…his twitching bones. It's terrifying, to say in the least."

"I could imagine." She said after a pause, "Have you talked to him about it?"

I shook my head quickly, "We…haven't said more than hello after that incident." I chuckled coldly.

"Funny thing is that we were going to go on a date that day…now I'm scared that we'll grow too far apart and break up."

"Kaldur is understanding. I am sure you both just need time." She assured me. I shook my head.

"It's not Kaldur I'm worried about…" She raised an eyebrow, "It's me."

"Do you…want to break up?"

"No!" I leaned forward and shook my head, "That's the last thing I want! I just…I just…I don't want him to have to suffer because of me…and I certainly don't want him to _die_ because of me."

"His sacrifice was his own choice; I can only imagine that you would have done the same." I nodded lightly, closing my eyes, "Angie, you don't have to rush yourself, but try to talk to him more. Slowly you'll be able to look at him without that fear, and the visions will fade away with your insecurities."

I nodded again and she clapped her hands on her legs, "Well, I think this is a good place to stop for today. Try and talk to him sometime today before you leave; I'm sure he wants to talk to you just as badly."

I stood up, passing her a small smile, before exiting the room. I sighed, squatting down on my ankles and crossing my arms so that I could rest my head. I did feel a little better from talking; if it hadn't been for Chad breaking the ice last night, though, I wouldn't have talked about it at all.

I decided to call him, but as I stood up I noticed someone coming my way. I turned my face to see Kaldur. He didn't notice me in front of him until he was close. I stared up at him in silence as he jumped in surprise. "O-oh…hello, Angie."

"Hey…" He gave a small smile before letting it fall into a frown again before he walked around me. I found myself reaching for his hand, and I clasped on tightly. "Kaldur, wait."

He turned with a blink and I could feel his stare as I looked down at my feet. I let go of his hand and placed mine together on my jeans. After shuffling for a moment, I blurted out the best thing I could think of. "Do you…do you want to go to the beach with me sometime today?"

I looked up at him to see his face still twisted in surprise until he chuckled lightly and turned all the way to me. He still had a sad glint in his eyes. "I would enjoy it, Angie, but I fear that right now is not the best time. Perhaps next week will be better."

"No." I raised my head higher as my heart pounded in my chest, "Next week won't be better. I…I miss you, Kaldur."

I could feel the knot in my throat again as I lowered my gaze. "I want to spend more time with you, like we did before."

He looked away as well, "It has been…difficult…to be in each other's presence."

"We won't ever act like we did before if we don't stop avoiding each other…" I mumbled while glancing up at him. He sighed lightly, nodding and pulling my hand into his. Suddenly his skin flashed yellow and I pulled my hand out of his grip. I jerked my eyes up to his, realizing what I had done, and he stared at me with a mixture of confusion and hurt. "K-Kaldur, I—"

"It is alright." He said, taking a step back, "Perhaps it would still be better if I gave you more time alone—"

I hugged his back with a strong grip and shook my head. "No, please listen!"

I could feel his tense muscles as I squeezed tighter around his waist. He managed to turn around in my grip somehow, and pull me off of him. I didn't give him a chance to speak. All of the emotions were still fresh from my conversation with Black Canary…I wanted to tell him my feelings.

"My emotions keep getting worse; every day we don't talk I find myself falling deeper into this constant fear that one day you're going to completely disappear from my life…like you did in the mission." His shoulders relaxed as he looked down at me, "I keep seeing your sacrifice, and I only find myself more and more upset at it…I should have been stronger, for the both of us."

"What happened was not your fault," He pressured, taking hold of my shoulders. I shook my head.

"But if I was stronger I would have been able to save you, to sacrifice myself in your place." I sighed, "I don't want you to see me as just this weak girl you have to protect."

He lowered his arms to his hips as he sighed lightly, "Perhaps you are correct…but remember that I am not only a superhero." He smiled with lowered eyebrows.

I blinked, "Huh?"

"When I sacrificed myself, it was not so that I could protect the team or just a 'weak girl'…I was protecting my loved ones. Angie, you are my partner, and I care for you more than anyone else."

My heart fluttered as he said the words, his green eyes digging into my eyes and through my soul. I reached up to his shoulders and stood on my toes. He lowered his head and met my lips. We parted, but I refused to let go of his shoulders. I stared up at him, trying not to cry. "Don't sacrifice yourself for me on a mission, okay? We'll always find another way out."

He nodded silently before surprising me with another kiss. I accepted the present gratefully, of course.

Hearts lifted of less burden, we decided to schedule our date again. He soon left for Atlantis, and I returned to my room just in time to see my phone light up with a text. I laid on my bed and opened it to see the message was from Chad.

"…_you owe me a dinner. An expensive dinner."_

I smiled lightly as I agreed, soon fell into an unbothered sleep.


	21. Chapter 21

A day late, but I think 14 pages worth is more than enough to make up for it! Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Angie?" M'gann was upset that I had to skip out on the Halloween party at her school. I smiled, scratching my cheek as we entered the mission room.

"Sorry M'gann! Kaldur promised me we'd go to Atlantis for the weekend!"

"How are you even going to breathe down there?" Conner asked with a raised eyebrow as M'gann wrapped his head with gauze. I _think_ he was going as a mummy, but I wasn't too sure. Wally howled in his werewolf costume and I sighed, shaking my head. I had to admit that I did want to go, but Kaldur and I had been so behind on this date…I wasn't going to let the opportunity slip from my fingers!

Zatanna and Artemis came through the tubes from the other side of the room and I grinned. "Zatanna's going to help with the whole breathing thing."

I ran up to the two of them, complimenting their outfits as a witch and a vampire. I then beamed silently at Zatanna, who smiled as she raised her hands. "I finally got it down pact! Ready?"

"As I'll ever be!" I replied, closing my eyes. She chanted her spell and I could feel a warm breeze on my neck. I opened my eyes and touched under my ears to feel gills. They opened and closed like a fish's. "So. Cool."

"Those gills should help with the breathing, and you'll be able to resist the pressure, too. It won't wear off until I cast a spell to take it off, so no worries on drowning!" She said as she raised a finger.

As I nodded, Artemis nudged me. "Enjoy your weekend full of fish men!"

I blushed, sending a playful glare her way before giving Zatanna's hand a squeeze, "Thanks Zatanna!"

I said my goodbyes to the group since I needed to figure out if I was forgetting anything for the trip in my room. I couldn't help but notice Wally had become silent as he stared at Artemis.

"Be careful Wally," I warned, "If you stare too long she'll catch you and suck your blood!"

He jumped before turning to me with a growl, "Y-yeah, well you just make sure your hair doesn't choke all of Atlantis!"

"I took care of that problem a month ago!" I said with a grin as I pointed to the bun I had put my hair into, "My dad came up with a restricting biochemical stimulant that keeps my hair occupied when in the water. So it won't grow anymore!"

"Well isn't that nifty?" He said with a sarcastic grin, crossing his arms, "So are you heading out now?"

"Not quite," I said with a shrug, "Kaldur said he had to talk to Batman before we could leave."

* * *

"How did it go?" I asked lightly when Kaldur came to get me with a sigh. He looked at me and shook his head lightly.

"My old friend Roy is very untrusting." I nodded, unsure on what to say on the topic before he changed the subject, "Are you ready to go?"

I nodded, pulling my backpack's straps onto my shoulders as I beamed up at him with a smile. "I'm more than ready!"

He smiled in reply and we walked to the tubes. He looked over my body and paused as he noticed my gills. "How did you—"

"Magic!" I said in excitement, "Zatanna made them for me. She said I'm good with pressure as well."

"That is a relief." He admitted, "I was worried that any technology would fail you."

The transporter started up and he stepped through first. I took a deep breath and followed.

* * *

"Welcome to Atlantis."

I stared with wide eyes as he took my hand in his and we swam forward. The colors under water were so much more vibrant to the eyes; everything seemed to be almost _glowing_. There were statues of mermen, mermaids and dolphins. There were even some statues of old Greek looking philosophers; to say in the least, it was gorgeous. As I looked around, Kaldur chuckled. "I take it is to your liking?"

"This place is amazing!" I gasped, swimming ahead of him to explore more. I twisted my body around so that I was swimming on my back and I stared at the designs on the ceiling of the corridor we were in. I stopped to stare longer as Kaldur caught up. I looked back to him, a smile wide on my face. "Thanks for bringing me here, Kaldur."

"It is the least I could do." He said with a smile as he swam forward, taking my hand again to guide me, "Besides, there are many friends here that I would like you to meet."

I ignored the pit in my gut when he spoke of his 'friends;' I knew that included Tula. I told you that I was territorial; meeting her and not acting like a complete fool was going to be a challenge.

I ignored the feeling, and soon enough it went away. Kaldur insisted that we first go to his home, which was located in a different city. We exited the corridor and I stopped as I took in the bright colors and peaceful atmosphere of Atlantis. The waters were busy with life of both fish and merpeople alike, but all at the same time the waters stayed calm. Kaldur called me, and we headed over towards a school of dolphins. He petted one as I approached. "Dolphins?"

"They are most helpful in travel when you need to get somewhere faster," He raised his hand to me, "Come, let us go."

I took his hand slowly, confused until he pulled me onto a dolphin's back. "W-wait, you mean we're going to _ride_ dolphins?" He nodded.

"Kaldur, I couldn't even stand riding on Robin's bike—there's no way I'll be able to ride a dolphin."

"I do not believe they are too different," He said with a sudden grin, "You should be alright—I am sure Abdulla here will make the trip very short."

He nodded to the dolphin as he got on his own, and we lurched forward. I screamed as the dolphin swam forward quickly, as if she was being timed. "Slow down, slow down!"

I could hear Kaldur chuckling behind me and I turned to glare at him. "You're the worst!"

* * *

"Ugh." Kaldur helped me off of the dolphin, who swam away as soon as I was off. I rested in his grip for a moment, holding my head. "I didn't think I could get sea sick _in_ the sea…"

"The more you know." He said before looking away from my glare.

"You get this sick kind of joy from seeing me suffer sometimes…" I narrowed my eyes even more, "There's a dark side of Kaldur I never knew about."

"Kaldur'ahm!"

We turned to see a blonde swimming towards us. She was older, although you couldn't see a day of age in her golden skin. She had strong cheek bones and a bright green dress. She embraced Kaldur as I stood behind, staring in curiosity. She noticed, and began to speak to me in an excited tone. Too bad I couldn't understand a lick of what she was saying.

Kaldur spoke to her, raising his arms and pointing to me. She looked at him and then looked at me with an open mouth as she slowly nodded. "Ah."

Kaldur asked for my hand and he pulled me forward. "Angie, this is my mother." I gasped, staring at her before bringing my hand down to clasp over the other.

"It-it's a pleasure to meet you! Your son has taken such good care of me…thank you for having him—I mean—for raising him to be such a gentleman—gentle merman?" Kaldur stopped me before I could go on with my nervous rant. He chuckled as he translated what I said. She laughed happily as she brought her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. She said something and I looked to Kaldur for a translation.

"She welcomes you, and is looking forward to learning more about you."

I nodded, still in her grip, and brought my hands up to return the hug awkwardly. She separated herself from me and proceeded to pull me inside what I guessed was the house.

I confirmed it when I noticed how ridiculously homey it looked inside; a dining room, kitchen and lounging area were all visible from the doorway. I could see a couple of doors further back and I mentally noted to see if I could find Kaldur's room later.

I noticed a man sitting at the table, and he stood up as we made eye contact. He smiled as I assumed Kaldur's mother introduced me to him. I smiled back, still nervous. "H-hello."

Kaldur came from behind me and hugged the man. He turned, their arms around each other's shoulders, and Kaldur introduced him as his father. I smiled nervously and when I began to rant again, Kaldur stopped me with a chuckle. "Relax, Angie. My family will not judge you."

I nodded before his mother began to pull at my shirt. I blinked as she untucked it from my shorts, causing it to begin to rise in the water. I pulled it back down with a red face and looked at Kaldur for help. He was frowning in embarrassment as he covered his eyes. "M-my mother insists that she gives you another outfit…"

With his eyes closed, he couldn't save me from being dragged into one of the back rooms. She sat me down and opened a closet full of clothes. She turned to me again, eyeing me up and down as she began to pick out an outfit. I sighed—so this is why Kaldur could always deal with M'gann's hyper attitude.

* * *

"Kaldur'ahm!"

We entered the living room again, where Kaldur and his father had been sitting and talking. I kept my eyes on the ground for a little, pulling on the tight shirt that only covered my chest.

"Kaldur…I think your mom wanted a girl." Kaldur's mom had a lot of fun dressing me up. She'd found a dark purple top and skirt that had a gold design on it. There was a gold scarf kind of thing that wrapped around my groin area to ensure no one could see up the skirt, and flipped over the top so that it rested between my legs. She had decorated my hair as well, although not as much as she wanted since I refused to let her take my hair down. I had a gold head piece that circled around the back of my head and stopped with swirls at my temples. It was a bit much, but since she had followed my requirements (a halter top and my hair up in a ponytail), I was content.

Kaldur approached me, smiling as he took my hands in his. "You look beautiful, Angie."

I blushed, but looked up at him with a smile in thanks. His father called something from behind, causing Kaldur's eyes to widen and his hands to drop mine. He turned red as he turned to his father, who was laughing along with his mother. "W-what? What'd he say?" I questioned. He shook his head, rubbing his eyes before taking my hand again.

"It is nothing…let us go now. It is almost time for dinner."

We said our goodbyes to his parents, and after receiving a strong hug from his mother we made our way into the city. He showed me a lot of things on the way; their culture was sophisticated and impressive; I wanted to stay longer than a weekend to learn more about it.

After a ride on dolphins again (I was assured that the dolphin I was on would go slower), we entered the building we had transported outside of, and went down many corridors. There were a lot of soldiers that were half shark. They raised eyebrows as I gawked with an open mouth. "This is so cool. Shark-mermen!"

"Do try not to gape too much; it is still considered rude to stare in Atlantis." He suggested as I pulled my jaw up and looked forward.

"Ah ha, right…my bad." I blinked as I saw the room in front of us coming into clear view, "Kaldur…what is this place?" It was decorated a lot more than all of the other places we'd been to.

"Ah, I see our guest has made it! How splendid!" I looked to my left as Kaldur and I stopped. Aquaman was sitting at a large table with a beautiful woman sitting beside him. The two smiled at me as my face reddened. I looked at Kaldur, who had placed his fist on his forehead as if saluting his king. I did the same very quickly but Aquaman only laughed. "Please, do not be so formal. Come, sit with us, young Medusa!"

We sat down across from the two and I kept my head down. The last time I had seen the King of Atlantis, I'd been in a really nasty mood. "U-um, I am sorry for the way I acted last time—"

"No, no!" He said, waving his hand with a smile, "It was understandable—Kaldur had upset you quite a bit."

I only turned deeper red as he talked about my reaction to Kaldur putting on Dr. Fate's helmet. I looked around the room until I landed on the woman beside him. She smiled gently as her red hair seemed to dance in the current. I gazed at her with curiosity.

"Ah, I have forgotten that you have not met the queen," the king said as he raised his hand towards her, "This is Mera, my wife."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Angie." She said with a smile, "Kaldur finds himself talking quite a lot about you, despite his usually focused mind."

I glanced at Kaldur with a small grin before looking back up at her, "Thank you; it is an honor to be here as well."

"I take that you are enjoying your time here?" She asked, "You are in very impressive garments."

"My mother demanded that she have her way with her outfit before we arrived," Kaldur explained with a small sigh, "You understand how she is, my queen."

She chuckled, nodding, and we talked as a group until the food came out. It was pretty ordinary looking to my surprise. I hadn't necessarily been thinking of a giant octopus or anything, but…at least a starfish, maybe.

"You look confused." I blinked, looking up from the plate in front of me as Aquaman tilted his head, "Do you not enjoy seafood?"

"N-no, not at all!" I said, shaking my head, "I just…it's interesting to see the similarities between my world and yours."

He smiled, cutting a shrimp before nodding, "Yes, it is isn't it? That is why Kaldur and I both enjoy the surface world so much." Kaldur nodded in agreement as he chewed his food. I giggled lightly before digging in myself.

We ate until we were stuffed, and as the servants cleared the table, Mera leaned forward. "Angie, Kaldur tells me you are of siren decent?"

I blinked before nodding slowly. She smiled, standing up slowly before she continued talking, "We would be more than happy to introduce you to other sirens. Perhaps they can help you train, or learn more about your ancestry."

I looked to Kaldur with a smile before looking back up at her. "That would be great—thank you!"

"Then how about tomorrow we go to visit our sisters?" She suggested, turning to Kaldur, "Is that alright with you, Kaldur? I am not sure if you have plans made."

He shook his head, saluting her with his fist on his forehead again, "In all honesty my queen, I had not planned our day out yet. It would be our honor to have your assistance."

"Wonderful. I do believe there will be someone with us tomorrow who misses you, Angie." She nodded to me before taking her leave, Aquaman soon leaving after.

"Someone who misses me?" I repeated, turning to Kaldur in confusion. He said nothing and we headed out, the waters darkening but were illuminated by the glowing colors of the buildings. He took my hand in his again.

"Angie, I wish to take you to a special place. Close your eyes." I did as he said and focused on his large hands surrounding mine. He stopped and lowered me so that I was sitting down. My feet were hanging; we were at a cliff. "Alright, open your eyes."

I blinked, looking at him first as he sat beside me. He shrugged towards the front of us and I turned. My jaw dropped at the view of the kingdom of Atlantis, fish swimming everywhere as merpeople winded down for the night.

"Wow." It was breath taking, to say in the least.

"I am glad we were able to make our date this time." He said, looking at me with a smile, "If it were not for you speaking out to me, we would not be here."

I shrugged, blushing at his praise, "I-it was nothing. I just…wanted to tell you how I felt, I guess."

He took my cheek in his hand and my smile dropped as I stared at his eyes. Today there were more blue than green. "Hey, Kaldur, have you noticed that your eyes change…"

He silenced me with a kiss. My heart was throbbing, ready to burst. We parted, but he rested his forehead on mine. Neither of us said anything, content with the atmosphere, and only moved when the waters were fading to a darker purple.

* * *

"How did you sleep?"

Covering a yawn, I nodded towards Kaldur who was already up and at 'em. "Surprisingly well—I never expected a pod to be comfortable."

I swam out, relieved that I hadn't drowned in my sleep, and joined him in his living room. His father was gone (off to work, Kaldur explained), but his mother was in the kitchen cooking a feast.

"Good morning, how are you!" She called when she saw me. I could tell she hadn't been practicing the phrases since she said it as more of an exclamation instead of a question. I nodded with a small chuckle regardless, which made her happy. Kaldur chuckled lightly as well and leaned towards me.

"She asked how to say that five minutes ago."

His mother pointed at him with a glare and said something that caused him to stand up straight again. He chuckled and I followed suit before we sat down. Kaldur translated most of the conversation, although every once in a while her eyes would narrow and her mouth would turn into a smirk as she mumbled something his way. He'd blush and shake his head as he answered her, but he wouldn't tell me anything.

Soon we left the house, since we had promised to meet Queen Mera. We rode on a turtle's back today, much to my pleasure, and had a lovely (slow) view of the morning of Atlantis. A market had opened up in what Kaldur explained to be the common place of the town.

After we got off of the turtle, we made our way into the castle once again. I recognized the part of the castle we were in and told Kaldur in pride. He slowed down. "Then…you will not mind finding your way to the throne room from here?"

I stopped and swam back to where he was floating, "Why? Are you going somewhere?"

"I have friends I would like to see," He explained, "And they are currently in classes right now. I hope to catch them during their break, so that they may come see us after they are done."

"Oh." Tula immediately came to my mind, but I put on a smile so that he couldn't see my jealously, "Yeah, that's fine! Go ahead; I'll be with Queen Mera!"

He didn't second guess my feelings on the subject. His smile widened to my poor heart's dissatisfaction before swam away quickly. I crossed my arms and shook my head before I heard a bark. Blinking, I swam forward towards the throne room. Was that my imagination, or did I really hear barking?

"Lae!" She attacked me with kisses as she jumped into my open arms. Pushing her gently away from my face, I looked up at Queen Mera, who was approaching from behind. "You're taking care of Lae?"

She nodded, her hand on her stomach, "Yes. My husband and I thought that she would be an excellent playmate for our child, once born."

"You're pregnant?!" I tried not to scream it, but it came out louder than I had meant. Now rubbing her stomach, she smiled with another nod.

"Today marks the third month."

"Congratulations!" I said, clasping my hands together, "I'm sure Aquaman is thrilled!"

We continued to talk, Lae at my side at all times, as we moved forward towards an open field of seaweed. Our conversation came to a halt when I found myself gasping at the sight. Who knew algae could look so pretty?

"Our people are close with the sirens, as you may or may not now," Mera explained, heading over the field. I nodded, following her.

"Yeah, Kaldur mentioned that to me before."

"Both of our people have old bonds with the sea," She continued as we began to swim across the field, "And so with our often colliding species, we always try to stay involved with each other."

As we reached the other side I realized that there was another portal. But this one was different; it wasn't technologically built like the Justice League's. It was a doorway standing on its own with vines growing around it and back down onto the ground. I could see something engraved on the back of it, but something told me that I wouldn't be able to read it anyway. Suddenly, there was a dim light in the doorway. I stepped back to stand beside the queen and gave her a concerned look.

"Do not worry, it is a sister from the other side." Mera explained (although I didn't really understand what she meant) before she mumbled to herself as she raised her arms. "Now let me see if I can remember this correctly,"

She began to chant, her arms glowing like Kaldur's tattoos did, and the engraved symbols on the arch glowed as the vines moved on their own. The vines seemed to almost dance to her words before they flushed themselves into the dim light that had appeared. The white light turned into a mild green as the vines disappeared, and then suddenly turned blue. Mera lowered her arms and smiled down to me. "Go ahead."

I walked over with hesitation, but decided that it couldn't be dangerous since it _was _Aquaman's wife, the queen of Atlantis, telling me to do it. It was much blander on the other side; there weren't any arranged gardens or buildings—just sand and rock. She swam in front of me and told me to follow her. I did as she told and we headed up.

We broke the surface water and I covered my eyes from the light; Atlantis was so much dimmer. As I blinked my vision back to normal, Mera spoke. "Welcome to Sirenum Scopuli."

I looked up to see we were now in a guarded island. There were tall rocks (fifty feet tall at least) around us, sharpened at the edges. It was when I was scanning these rocks that I saw something flying. I realized it wasn't a bird, but a person with wings.

It was a siren. And she wasn't the only one. I looked around and saw dozens of fliers walking around, their hair long and their wings bright white or dark black.

Mera and I stood out of the water and I stared at them as much as they stared at us. Mera began to speak to someone in Atlantean, so I turned to look at her again. She was speaking with an elderly woman, whose back was hunched over and her wings had turned as grey as her hair. She had narrowed eyes and cheeks that fell down over her lips and moved when she talked. She gave me the feeling of Hawkwoman—a serious attitude towards everything.

She looked at me as Mera turned, as if introducing me, and I stood stiff. I glanced towards Mera, who realized I understood nothing of what they were saying. She brought her hand up to my forehead and chanted, her arms glowing once again.

"I am sorry Angie; I forgot for a moment that you could not understand us." She said with a small smile, "I have cast a spell so that you can understand us now. Is that better?"

"Yes, much better." I said with a smile, secretly excited to use this to my advantage with Kaldur and his mom's conversations tonight at dinner. I focused myself again and looked at the crouching woman. She stared at me, looking me up and down before approaching me.

"Well what are you waiting for? Let me see your wings, child."

Used to the impatient people of the world, I did as she asked. I pulled them out, grunting slightly since I hadn't needed them for the past three weeks, and spread them with a sigh. I looked back down to her (that's right, she was shorter than even _me_) to see she held the same expression than she did before. She pulled my arm and twirled me around so that she could investigate my feathers. I rolled my eyes and rested on my hip as I waited for her to finish. When she pulled out a feather, I yelped and turned around. "That hurt!"

She ignored me and turned to the water to clean the feather of my blood. I had gotten comfortable with the team about my feathers, but now that I was suddenly surrounded by clean bird people, I suddenly really wanted to clean my feathers.

She stood up and flicked some water off of the feather before holding it to the light. She finally spoke when she brought it down. "You are Eloisa's daughter."

Sudden gasps were heard behind me and I turned to see that people were now stopping to stare at me. At first I was more interested in how she could tell who my mother was from my feather…but the eyes on me took hold of my attention quickly. I found myself wrapping my wings around my body as I turned back to her. "T-that was my mom's name, yeah; so what?"

Mera took hold of my shoulder, "Angie, Eloisa was taken from the island fifteen years ago. Her absence nearly caused a war between our people; if it had not been for the King's negotiation, there would have been a war."

"What?" I yelped before turning back to the older woman, "No, you've got it completely wrong! She was kidnapped by Cadmus!"

"Cadmus?" The grandma questioned. I nodded, explaining what the organization was, and her eyes narrowed again.

"So the wingless caused the disruption of our peace." I blinked as she turned to the other sirens, "Then they must pay!"

Suddenly everyone was cheering and egging on each other. I stepped forward, shaking my hands, "No! You can't do that!"

"They took one of ours," She scowled, pushing me behind her, "This is an opening war threat on any kingdom."

"But it's just one group of people that did it, not the whole species!" I countered.

But they would have nothing of it. Suddenly the sirens were pumped up, ready to fight. Was I really related to such a rowdy bunch? Usually I wanted to just stay away from fights; they were trying to start a multi-species _war_.

Mera pulled me back as she began to try to convince the grandma, Mertha I learned her name was, to stop this nonsense. When she also failed, she looked at me with lowered eyebrows. "I am sorry, Angie. I did not expect this to become so hectic on your first visit. Perhaps we should pull back for now, and get my husband."

"But there may not be enough time," I said with a panicked tone, "I'll try to stop them while you go back."

She hesitated, but when I pleaded with her she agreed. And so I was on my own with this group of crazy people I was apparently related to.

"H-hey!" Mertha turned to me with an annoyed glance, "Shouldn't you listen to the daughter of the victim?"

A few people actually stopped their cheering and looked at me. I smiled lightly with hope, but Mertha noticed, and began to chant that they had to shed blood to be even.

"Are you a crazy old bat or something?" I asked, raising an irritated eyebrow, "You don't need blood to be even or anything like that!"

"You should be on our side!" Mertha pointed at me, trying to change the tides, "It was your mother that suffered!"

"You don't know anything about her!" I yelped unexpectedly. I had obviously never been close to my mother, but hearing Mertha use her as a weapon of destruction irked me terribly. "My mother fell in love with a human. In fact, he saved me from being an experiment too! I would probably be killing people if it weren't for him. I hardly doubt she would want us to kill his people because of her suffering."

By this point I had actually quieted most of them down, including Mertha. She glared at me silently, and I was sure she could see me shaking. Talking in front of a big group was something I hadn't done for a long while, and I certainly wasn't used to challenging strangers with weapons all on my own.

I wasn't sure about what else I should say, and was scared to find their reaction. Lucky for me, Kaldur shot out of the water and was at my side in seconds. He stood tall, leaning far over the old woman in front of us. But he paid no attention to them, and looked at me with lowered eyebrows. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah." I said, smiling lightly with a sigh of relief. He smiled back, just as relieved it seemed, before he turned his attention to Mertha.

"I have heard the situation from the Queen. Attacking the—"

"Save your breath," Mertha said with a growl as she turned away from us, "We already heard it from the brat. We get it; we won't attack the wingless fools…yet."

Some of the crowd actually 'awed' as the group divided back to their normal lives. I stared in disbelief—all of this happened in less than five minutes. They were curious, angry, about to go to war, and then back to normal.

I was ready to go, but Mertha turned to me again. I stared at her with a questioning look when she grinned up at me. "You're tougher than your mother. She was always such a push over—never really fit in here. But you…you'll do just fine."

"Huh?" That was literally all I could say.

She walked away, waving her hand in the air, "Feel free to come visit us any time, _Angie_."

I nodded to her slowly as I turned towards Kaldur. I looked up to see he was smiling. "It is good to see that there is someone else other than the King that can calm the sirens down. They often are quite rowdy when they feel they are personally attacked."

I sighed, holding my forehead as we walked towards the water. "Kaldur, I don't think I'm related to these people. They're way too stubborn, and easily excitable."

He coughed into his hand to attempt to hide a still visible grin, "I do not see the difference."

"Hey!"

* * *

"Oh, this is so wonderful! Now Kaldur can't hide his secrets." Those were the first words that came out of Kaldur's mother's mouth when she realized I could speak their language. Kaldur held his head in his hand while I chuckled. "I'll tell you so many things tonight at dinner!"

"Actually, Mother," Kaldur interrupted, "I was wondering if we would be able to move that dinner to lunch tomorrow? I was hoping to introduce Angie to my friends at the Academy, and they wish to dine with her tonight."

"Well aren't you just a popular tadpole?" She asked with a laugh. Understanding her made her a lot less pushy and a lot friendlier. I accepted her compliment with a smile before we headed out, again.

It had been a busy day. It was a little weird to think that I had actually stopped a war. And after all that, right now all I wanted to do was eat and sleep…but I knew that meeting Kaldur's friends was important to him, so I said nothing.

I had to admit that I wasn't looking forward to this dinner. My confidence was shrinking; there was no way I could be in the same room as Tula and not feel uneasy.

We arrived to the Academy, where I could see a lot of different species of people. There were merpeople, octopus-people, whale-people and even shark-people. He waved to some of them, but we continued until we came across a ginger and a dark brunette. Kaldur called their names and my heart sunk. The beautiful ginger that was turning was none other than Tula.

The two (the boy's name was Garth) swam up to us, and greeted Kaldur warmly. Tula took my hand in hers and introduced herself. "I am Tula, Kaldur's old friend, and this is Garth. We have heard so much about you; it is such a pleasure!"

Oh god. She was sweet; really sweet.

"I-it's nice to meet you, too." I said with a small laugh. I should have told Kaldur I was too tired; I didn't want to be here right now.

"Come, let us dine." Garth suggested, swimming forward. We followed and seated ourselves at a bar-side restaurant. It was chill and relaxed, kind of like beach stalls. "So tell us more about yourself, Angie."

"O-oh, well," I tried to bring a smile to my lips and succeeded slightly, "I don't think there's a lot to tell about me. I'm on Kaldur's team, and we work together to bring the bad guys down."

"Her powers are of the Sirens." Kaldur added, "She is a decedent of Medusa."

"Well that is not much to tell at all now, is it?" Garth asked with a laugh. Tula smiled and leaned forward so that she could see me from beside Garth.

"I heard from the Queen today of your argument with Mertha. That was quite the feat."

I felt sick to my stomach with jealousy whenever she spoke. She genuinely meant all of these complements, which was what was killing me. All this time I'd been focusing on how I could show her up…but she was legitimately interested in getting to know and befriend me. There was no way I could compete with her; she was too…well, everything.

She was perfect.

"Ah ha, yeah, well, I'm one of them so I guess I just 'out-stubborned' them."

I think they started catching some of my rough feelings, because they strayed from the topic. When I continued to give off answers, Tula excused Garth and herself for a moment. I saw her give Kaldur a look, at which I pretended I didn't, and stared at my hands.

"Are you…alright?" Kaldur questioned after a moment of silence. I nodded, not moving my eyes.

"Peachy."

"Angie, I know that you are not 'peachy' when you use the word peachy." He pressed, "What is wrong?"

"I don't know," I said with a sigh as I lifted my head and stared up into the deep sea, "I think I'm just really tired."

"Why did you not inform me?" He asked, "We very well could have stayed home."

"But I knew how much seeing Tula meant to you—" I jumped and mentally cursed myself, "I mean, I knew how much seeing Tula _and_ Garth meant to you."

He blinked and leaned towards me, which only encouraged less eye contact. "Are you concerned about my feelings for Tula?"

"Well," I pushed myself off of the seat and floated into the open water as I turned to him, "This has been great, but I think I want to go back to the cave now."

"Angie—"

"The King and Queen have been great," I said, smiling bitterly with a nod, "And your mom was amazing. Thank them for me, okay?"

I turned and began to swim, running into Tula and Garth on the way. "Are you leaving already?" Tula asked with a frown.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm really not feeling that well…" I lied, giving them the best smile I could gather. I could feel my jaw shaking in frustration as I turned from them. I wasn't fooling anyone, and I knew that I was acting like a child that couldn't have a toy all to herself. I thought I had out grown this, but apparently not.

It was weird to cry underwater—my vision got blurry for a second until the tears merged with the ocean water. I looked around, trying to find my gatherings, when I realized that I was completely lost. I didn't know this part of the city—I knew some of the castle and that was about it. And so I slowed down and paused at a bench. I wiped my nose and brought my knees up so that I could rest my chin on them.

It wasn't even jealousy at this point—now I just felt stupid. Being tired and hungry had probably been a factor, but something told me that I would have been fake one way or another to the ginger regardless of my state of being.

"I thought it would be best to give you some time alone," My body tensed when I heard Kaldur's voice. I looked up at him with lowered shoulders as he stood in front of me. "Do you wish to talk, now?"

I lowered my feet to the sand and drew circles with my toe as I avoided answering him. He sat beside me and sighed; I peeked up at him to see he was stretching his neck over the bench's back and staring upwards. I looked back down and sighed to myself.

"Is it wrong for me to be jealous?" He didn't move for a minute, but then he slowly sat up so that he could see my face (although I kept it facing down), "I mean…I know that you're really good friends with her, Kaldur, but you used to love the girl…it makes me uncomfortable. I can't help but want to compare myself to her."

"You should know better than anyone that my feelings for her have ended, Angie. I chose my role as Aqualad over her."

"But that doesn't mean your feelings left!" I snapped, looking up at him before looking away again. He took my hand in his.

"Angie, I love her, but only as a friend." When he realized I was still unconvinced, he added more, "Do you remember in the mental training exercise when I mouthed something to you?"

I blinked, looking at him in confusion, "You mean…before the beam hit you?"

He nodded, "I was speaking in my native tongue, so it would be no surprise that you did not understand what I said."

I shrugged lightly and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "So…was it something important?"

He turned so that he faced me all the way and he smiled lightly as he stared at our linked hands, "I said I love you."

I pulled my hands out of his so that I could cover my blushing face. My eyes left his and went everywhere, when in reality all that I wanted was to look at him. "W-what—but—I—you—"

"I care for you, Angie." He said, eyes closed as he took my hands in his once again, "I know that we are still far too early in the relationship to say such strong words, but at that moment, you were all that was on my mind."

I didn't say anything, and he decided to lighten the mood. "Besides, she and Garth…they are dating."

"_What_?" I covered my mouth as people looked at me with a strange expression. I turned to him with wide eyes, still covering my mouth. "Y-you mean…"

He nodded lightly, "During my last visit in Atlantis, she rejected me."

_Oh crap._

"Kaldur, I'm so sorry. I'm such a goof—I've just been so awful."

"Do not blame only yourself," He said as he closed his eyes with a small shake of his head, "I was at fault as well."

When I gave him a questioning look, he further explained, "You see, I must admit that I wished to…'show you off' to my old friends. I hoped to let them see that thanks to them I had found someone truly wonderful. But I was so prideful that I did not pay attention to how tired you were; I should have postponed this dinner for tomorrow."

He had wanted to show me off. Suddenly I felt like an even bigger fool for even questioning his care about me. He had literally sacrificed himself for me before—how could I not have believed in him?

I leaned onto his chest and spread my arms around his waist as I smiled uncontrollably. He chose me, he liked me. My cheeks were rosy from his praise, and all of my concern had flown out the window; I just wanted to snuggle with him. "Let's go back; I'll apologize for acting so stupid."

"I do not think that is a very good idea," Kaldur said with a chuckle as he shook his head, "You see Tula and Garth think I did something to upset you. She demanded that we have _personal_ time for the rest of the evening since I apparently cannot notice when you are feeling under the weather."

"Oh." I replied, separating from his chest and rubbing the back of my head, "Then…what are we going to do now?"

"I believe this is the moment where I take you out for a meal." He said with a smile, "Besides, I am still very hungry,"

My stomach growled as if on cue, "And it seems that you are as well."

* * *

"Must you return already? It seems as though you only just got here." I smiled lightly as I hugged his mother back. She had been unbelievably sweet, and the lunch full of embarrassing Kaldur had only brought us closer.

"It was such a great opportunity, meeting all of you." I looked around to Garth, Tula and his parents, "I hope it's alright if I come to visit again soon!"

"If Kaldur doesn't bring you more often than he should, we will be sure to scold him for being selfish," Tula said with a wink as she came towards me to link hands, "But in return, do take care of him for us on the surface."

I nodded with a smile as I gave her hands a squeeze before Kaldur began his round of goodbyes. I gave the ocean a final glance around before we took our leave. They waved until we were out of sight, and I glanced towards Kaldur. "I can see why it was hard to leave them…they love you a lot, Kaldur."

He nodded with a small smile as we rounded the corner, "Yes, but I made a choice, and I plan to stick with it."

I took hold of his hand. "I'm glad."


	22. Chapter 22

I'm sorry you guys. It's late AND it sucks for the most part. I just couldn't get it right, and so I have to admit that I got frustrated and put what I thought would be okay. This is definitely not my favorite chapter.

* * *

"Your form is terrible. Who taught you to fly, a grasshopper?"

I fell to the ground and crossed my arms as I sent another glare towards the grandma in front of me. "I don't see you doing any better, _Mertha_. Why don't you show me, instead of complaining? I'm only here for the day, you know."

She took a sip of her juice as she crossed her legs in her chair and eyed me. "These wings are too old to waste energy on someone like you."

"Oh, so you've realized you're just a useless meat bag now, huh?" I grinned victoriously when she sat up with a growl. We probably would have continued if it hadn't been for her granddaughter Ligeia, who was rather calm for a siren.

"H-here, Angie, let me teach you."

She actually avoided fighting, and was often teased and ridiculed by everyone (including her grandmother). A factor that kept her from being a complete reject was that she was unbelievably fast in flight. It did help, too, that she was far from ugly. She had the jet black hair I did but with many, many curls that she kept in a low ponytail. She also had wide purple eyes that literally glowed in the dark. Her tiny frame was defined by muscle, but her smile was almost too sweet to even describe. If only sweetness was considered attractive around here; she'd have all the men at her feet.

I sighed, focusing again on her form. This was only the third day I had come since my visit to Atlantis, and their courting ways weren't the only things that gave me culture shock. There were more women on the whole island then men, so with them as a minority they were viewed as less important. I'd even seen a woman beat a man—which didn't sit well with me and got me into trouble when I started a fight because of it.

Three days may not have seemed like a lot of time, but it had only been a week since I'd first come to the island, so I was having a hard time understanding it all at once. Not to mention I was busy running between so many places in a day; home, school, the Cave and Sirenum Scopuli (which I nicknamed Siren Scope for short) kept me plenty occupied, not to mention exhausted. Batman had decided for me to spend my free time learning from my people so that I could build connections; if it wasn't for Mertha, I wouldn't have minded it in the least. Everyone else was really nice once I got to know them. Since blind kindness was often frowned upon and viewed as a weakness, my feisty spirit was accepted as a good thing.

But I learned very quickly that Mertha ran the place. Ligeia explained that they were of the blood line of Medusa's sister Stheno, and therefore were one of the leading families of the sirens. I also found out that there was another siren civilization across the seas in the Bermuda Triangle, which represented the other sister of Medusa, Euryale. So I guess you could say I was 'royalty,' although they never claimed it to be like that. After my mother's mother had passed, the Medusa clan decided to join forces with the Stheno clan, so they left their hidden island near Greece to join Mertha's (which was located beside India).

"Alright, now you try." Ligeia insisted as she fell from the sky and gently landed on the tips of her toes. I brought myself back into focus and nodded before attempting to fly as she had. "Much better, Angie! Just make sure you keep your legs straight!"

"It's a lot easier to fly this way!" I said, doing a couple of spins in the air.

Mertha called me back down quickly, "Yeah, well don't get too happy about it. You gotta long way to go before you're any good to call yourself a—"

I blinked, looking down to see why she had stopped talking. Ligeia was standing next to Mertha's chair, which was suddenly empty. I flew down to her side as guards approached in frenzy. "The mistress—what happened to the mistress?!"

But, and here's the crazy thing you guys, then they disappeared too.

"What's going on?" I questioned in alarm as the adults around us began to disappear. Ligeia ran towards the nursery in alarm, worried about the chicks that were probably now left unattended. I focused on the teenagers and children outside. The teenagers were arguing with each other about what was happening; the children were crying.

"All of the adults are suddenly gone." An older teenager said, his hand on his chin, "But we of seventeen and under are still around…"

This only sent the older teenagers into frenzy. "Then we're next! It's only a matter of time before we're done for!"

"Calm down!" I called to those near me, "Instead of freaking out, let's make sure everyone is okay! Find your neighbors and come back here together! Report if any child or teenager is missing!"

They listened, shuffling among each other with confusion and worry. When we were assured that no one was lost or alone, we joined together in the nursery. Ligeia was rushing to and from multiple babies. When she saw us coming, she rushed out and demanded for help. Many of the older teenage men went to help. Ligeia took time to pull me to the side. "What's going on? Grandma and all of the other adults…where did they go?"

"I'm not sure," I said with lowered eyebrows as I pulled my finger to my ear and pressed my communicator, "I'm going to see if my team can help us."

She nodded and returned to our people to help them calm down and work together. I called for Kaldur, and went outside when I heard his voice. "Thank goodness I got a hold of you! You won't believe—"

"_Adults are disappearing there too?"_

My shoulders slugged down, immediately thinking of my father. I kicked the thought out of my head to stay focused. "Oh…then it isn't just us?"

"_Afraid not,"_ Robin replied with a sigh, _"There's not one single adult left on the planet! I've searched everywhere!__"_

"What should we do?" I questioned lightly, trying not to think of my own father missing, "We're all together, waiting."

"_Stay where you are, and keep everyone together. It is the best thing you can do."_ Kaldur commanded.

I narrowed my eyes lightly, "But…I want to help. Ligeia has everything under control here; she doesn't need my help. I'll come back over."

"_Actually,"_ Kid Flash said lightly, _"Don't you think some of the older sirens could come help us—"_

"It is not our right to put civilians, of any species, in danger of any kind." Kaldur interrupted harshly, "We will not ask for them to make such a journey for our problems."

"But what can it hurt to ask?" I questioned, my hand on my chin, "If they agree, it's their own choice. And maybe with more people, we can figure out what's going on, and fix things quickly!"

Kaldur was silent, unsure, but I pushed. "The worst that can happen is that they _don't _want to help us. I'll make sure they're safe, Kaldur. They're my people; we'll work together."

He took another moment before answering, "I will allow it. But do not join in any sort of combat."

"Understood!" I said in a chipper voice before taking my hand off of the communicator and turning to the sirens, "If you're older than thirteen years old, come over here! I need your help!"

* * *

There were about thirty of us. The island of sirens didn't have that big of a population (only 100 children and teenagers alone), so I was pretty happy with the open minded teens that decided to help 'the wingless.' Something told me those who came listened to me because I was of the royal Medusa decent, but I was willing to use that card if it meant helping lost children.

"Be careful," Ligeia advised after she opened the portal. She had managed to link it to Roanoke Island, where there weren't a lot of helpers, so we'd be flying straight in. I grinned at her as I walked towards the portal, thumbs up.

"We're going to show them what sirens are made of!" The sirens behind me cheered in excitement before we finally set off. I could tell they were nervous; usually the sirens didn't set foot off of the island for their whole life; they were about to get an intense culture shock, one bigger than mine.

"Let's do this!" Again, they cheered and we went forward. It was weird to see my powers being used by other people; the Medusa descendants could turn things into stone in a heartbeat, and then they'd whip their hair and break it just as easily. This is the method they used to get children out of the cars; it was interesting to watch and I mentally noted to ask them to teach me some methods later.

But that wasn't all the sirens could do. Those being descendants of Stheno could use a natural strength to their advantage, while the Euryale descendants used their songs to control inanimate objects, and sometimes even people.

I myself used the hammer the Hawks had given me to bust down doors and insure that no babies were left unattended in households. After we found a fair amount of children, we made our way to the rescue area Robin has contacted me about. It was at a high school, in their gym. We entered and many of the children came up to us in curiosity about our wings.

I told the sirens to keep their wings up for their sake.

Some of the sirens decided to stay and help around the gym in keeping the children occupied with flying tricks and what not, but I took the rest to go hunting for the lost again.

"This place, it is strange." One of the sirens commented lightly from beside me as he gazed around.

"That's what I thought when I saw Siren Scope!" I said with a laugh as I checked inside a room before coming back to his side, "It's different, but not bad."

He nodded, a smile on his lips, and I grinned before turning to focus again. It was good to see that the sirens could be interested in this world too. If things went well, they'd be able to build bridges with humans in no time.

"I found one!" I looked up as a siren called, pointing to a window, "She is holding a beast, however!"

"A beast?" I questioned, flying up to see what she was talking about, "Oh…that's a dog. Don't worry about that."

The girl stared at us in fear and the dog, a petty little Chihuahua, barked. I opened the window and sat on the seal with a small smile. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you. What's your doggie's name?"

"J-Julius." She answered in a mumble. I stepped down and squatted near her. He continued to bark at me as I talked to the little girl and explained why I was there. Resisting the urge to throw him out the window, I picked them up and flew them to the high school.

The television we had set up in the corner suddenly switched to Kaldur, Kid Flash and Robin. I sat down and watched as the rest of the group became silent to listen to their announcement.

"_We know you must be scared and angry," _Wally said, _"We know that with your parents missing there is a temptation to go wild, but please stay calm."_

It was really strange to see him so serious on the television. He wasn't just a clown, I knew from many experiences, but it was still weird to see it on television.

"_We will find a way to bring the adults back, but for now the oldest among you must step up."_

Well, it was weird to see any of them on TV at all.

"_Take care of your younger siblings," _Robin paused,_ "Take care of those who have no one."_

"_Protect them."_ Wally added.

Kaldur, who had his eyes closed as he nodded, opened them wide as he stared through the camera and deep into our eyes, _"It is up to you."_

They cut off the broadcast and I looked turned to see everyone stare at me. I blinked in surprise before smiling lightly and clasping my hands together. "You heard them! Let's take care of each other, okay?"

* * *

"_Come in Medusa."_

"I'm here—any news?" I responded anxiously as I stopped on top a building and waved for the other sirens to continue.

"_We have located the mystical source of the disappearance of the adults," _Kaldur responded, _It is no more than ten miles away from your location."_

"What?" I asked in surprise, "Then I'll head over there now—"

"_No!"_ Zatanna said quickly to my surprise. I didn't even know she was there. _"That mystical source is way too powerful for you to handle—not even I could do any damage."_

"But I can't just sit here!" I complained, "Maybe I can distract him—"

"_The best thing for you to do is to wait. We're on our way, and we'll pick you up."_

Although I really wanted to do anything but wait, I agreed and continued to search for children until they came. I spoke to the sirens and gave instructions before I left. As I boarded the ship, KF immediately questioned me. "Since when do you speak Siren?"

I rolled my eyes before replying, "Magic, KF, magic." I turned to sit beside Kaldur, but found a little kid in my seat. I narrowed my eyes and pointed to him.

"Who's the kid, and why is he in my seat?"

"It's me, Captain Marvel!" He said with a roll of his eyes. I rolled mine back, and began to question him, when Artemis waved her hand in the air.

"We had this conversation earlier—he's the real deal, he's just actually an eight year old kid, blah blah blah."

"Oh." I said, shrugging my shoulders before sitting down beside Zatanna, "So…just how powerful is this guy, if you can't put a scratch on him?"

"He's crazy powerful," She responded before looking out the window, "If we don't have any luck, we'll need the power of a god to help us…or…"

She mumbled something but I didn't understand what she was saying. Before I could ask, the little kid interrupted our conversation.

"Then it's a good thing I'm here! Captain Marvel will help save the day!"

I stared at him, eyes squinted, "Alright, I'm starting to see the resemblance."

We arrived at the location of the source, but as we began to approach it Kaldur pulled me back. "Are you…alright?"

I blinked, knowing what he was talking about, but acted like I did, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Your father," He said slowly and cautiously, "He had been missing for months, and now—"

"Oh, is that what you're talking about?" I asked him with a chuckle as I began to walk forward, "We know he's okay now, so it's fine! It's like you said—he was missing for months before…I'm not worried about him when it's only been a couple of hours!"

"If you insist," He said, following me forward. I made a point to not make eye contact with him. He knew me too well, and he knew that I was secretly panicking inside.

* * *

So there was this creepy demon kid named Klarion—Klarion the witch boy to be exact. And he was the cause of the disappearance of the adults. Kaldur had explained to me before the clash that there were actually two dimensions (one with adults and one with kids), but I liked to keep it simple and call it a disappearance.

But anyway, the kid, he was more than just creepy; he was strong. And he was giving us quite the pounding. Artemis and Robin were out for the count, and despite the helpful information about the gem being the power source Billy (better known as Captain Marvel) had brought to us; we couldn't get close to it.

Not to mention his little familiar cat turned into a giant beast, and kept Superboy busy. Kaldur, KF, Miss Martian and I were attempting to fight him, but he was way too strong for the likes of us. Kaldur could keep off his magic for only a little before taking the hits like the rest of us.

But if that wasn't bad enough, the fight got crazier, and a lot more horrid. Zatanna brought Dr. Fate into the equation, and before any of us could stop her she was no longer the magical girl we once knew.

She became Dr. Fate.

There was nothing we could do, and so we continued to try to break down the barrier the Witch Boy had brought around himself and the gem. Together we managed to bring down the field, and capture Klarion. Kid grabbed the gem and threw it to Dr. Fate, at which point he chanted a spell and the adults returned to us.

Klarion ran away to no surprise, ending the battle. But I watched in sadness as Zatanna—no, Dr. Fate—flew down to us from the sky. Zatara approached Fate and pleaded for his daughter's life, and in the end only managed to by giving up his own life.

"Dad!" The two embraced, and it became apparent to all of us that she didn't know what was going to happen.

He kissed her forehead, "Never forget, I love you." He took the mask, and put it on as Zatanna screamed for him to stop.

Zatara became Dr. Fate.

* * *

"Agathangelos!"

I looked up as my father pulled me into a hug. "D-dad, chill out. At least let me close the door."

As he held onto me, I thought about how Zatanna would never feel a warm embrace from her father ever again. She wouldn't have her family, her loved one, with her anymore. She'd have us, but we were far from close.

She'd be alone, like I was months ago.

He separated from me and I lowered my eyes to the ground, trying to hide my tears. I jumped onto him with a hug and let the tears pour from my eyes. "Daddy..."

He pulled me in for another tight hug and I didn't let go.


	23. Chapter 23

I literally had no internet connection for the last 5 days. I couldn't even see what the next episodes were, so I couldn't write anything. Then I found out I needed to write a completely irrelevant chapter, so here it is, finally.

* * *

I jumped in surprise when Wally's head appeared in front of mine. I growled as Kaldur and I sat up, interrupted from our movie. I hadn't been able to spend nearly half as much time as I wanted with him since I'd been training with the sirens, so Wally barging into our time was obviously unwelcomed. Since Artemis had been hanging out with Zatana a lot more, they didn't get _their_ quality time (which usually consisted of arguing about something or another), and he was lonely. Which led him to us since he'd finally learned about M'gann and Conner on his birthday last week.

"What do you want, Wally?" I asked with a scoff before Kaldur squeezed my shoulder and shined a small smile. He was too nice sometimes…okay, all the time.

Wally waved his arms, as if trying to calm me down, "Sorry, sorry! I thought you were bored, so I came to keep you company!"

"We were watching a movie," Kaldur explained, "Would you like to join us?"

I sent a glare his way this time, but before I could counter Kaldur's sugestion, Wally was holding the bowl of popcorn and was sliding his way between the two of us. "Sure! What movie?"

I think he was still in denial about Conner and M'gann.

"Lost in Translation." I muttered, pressing the play button. Wally stole the remote and yawned before shoving a hand of popcorn in his mouth.

"Bo-ring!" He changed it to some car race and I stared at him in disbelief.

"Wally, we were watching that movie!"

"And now you're watching this one!"

I threw my hands up as I shook my head before standing up. I walked down the hall, and Kaldur called after me. I held my finger out, "Don't worry, I'll be back later."

"Where are you going?" He pressed, twisting to watch me go with a slight pout. I grinned at the childish look on his face before winking and throwing my head towards Wally, who was immersed in the NASCAR race on the TV.

"Oh, well, Artemis, Conner and I were going to go somewhere, but you know, with Wally here I don't want to miss this." Wally nearly choked on the popcorn, "I guess the two will just have to go on their own. All alone. Kinda like a date—"

"Y-you know what, I just remembered something." He tossed the remote to Kaldur and zoomed to my side, "Do you know where Supey is? He promised he'd show me what he's always working on his bike for. Today. Right now, actually."

"I think he's in the garage." I said with a smile, trying to control my laughter, "But you'd better hurry, I think they're leaving soon—"

"Speed is my middle name!" And he was gone.

I turned back to Kaldur with a wide grin and sat down. He wrapped his arm around me again as I twisted a lock of my hair, "I told you they've got something going on."

"I believe it is something he has yet to realize." Kaldur said with a chuckle before shaking his head, "But you shouldn't lie to him…it will cause confusion and embarrassment later. Besides, Artemis is not even here."

"I'll deal with the consequences. I just wanted my Kaldur time." We shared a small smile and resumed the movie. We managed to get through the entire movie without another word, and right as the credits rolled, Hawkwoman came through the zeta tubes.

"Training time!" I said, standing up and planting a quick kiss on Kaldur's forehead before running to my room to change.

Things had been going swimmingly well for everyone. Although Zatanna was still struggling with the loss of her father, she was doing pretty well. She was a strong girl; she didn't shed a single tear in front of us. Her relationship with Robin only got stronger, since he often distracted her sadness with humor.

The team hadn't had any bumps, and we'd even been able to fight side by side with the Justice League (coincidentally on Wally's birthday). I'd gotten stronger, myself. Working with both the sirens and Hawkwoman gave me an advantage as a winged fighter.

I focused on getting ready again, and grabbed my hammer from my closet before heading towards the door. My phone suddenly sounded, informing me that I had a text. Chad popping into my head (especially since he had been bothering me about that dinner I owed him), I opened my phone absent-mindedly and hit reply quickly.

"_Patrolling. Talk later."_

It sent and I closed the phone again before heading out. I really should have looked at the text.

It wasn't Chad.

* * *

I finished putting my hair in a ponytail (with the tie my father had made) on the top of my head as I approached Hawkwoman. She turned as she usually did and I followed. Today I'd go on my first sky patrol with just me and her; it was exciting. I would be lying if I didn't respect her.

"So what's the mission?" I asked, gaining wind under my wings as I caught up with her. She looked ahead, nodding forward.

"Patrolling. And it looks like we've got our first criminal encounter. Stay sharp."

We dived down onto the alley streets and attacked two men who were running from a bank. They raised their guns towards us but I easily smacked them out of their hands with my hammer. Hawkwoman took them out with two solid punches. After wrapping them up (at which I placed a pretty bow in the rope), we took off again. My adrenaline was pumping; these were the things I thought I'd be doing as a super hero—it was exciting.

Our day continued as such, and she eventually called patrol to an end. Tired, I decided to return to my civilian mode and walk back to the cave from the beach side.

I changed on the edge of the beach in an old abandoned shed. I threw my shirt on and then threw my clothes in the bag I had hidden in the room. As I opened the door to leave, a hand wrapped around my mouth and pulled me back.

I kicked immediately, the adrenaline from earlier still fresh in my blood, but the hand remained on my mouth despite my struggle.

Instead of yelping in pain, they only grunted.

_He _only grunted.

"Stop struggling—I saved your life before, you owe me at least that much." I stopped and turned with his hand still strong. The light from the nearby light house shone through the window and revealed the person's face. The first thing I noticed was blood dripping down his face. It was dry and crusty, with a fresh river following the same course. His left eye was shut to prevent the blood from getting inside, but was also swollen around a cut.

It took me a moment to realize who it was, but when I did I nearly fell to the ground. "What are you doing here?"

It was Victor.

* * *

"Hold still!"

He grunted as an answer, and took hold of my hand as he sent a glare with his open eye. I narrowed my eyes at him and poked his injury, causing his hand to let go. "Don't poke my wounds!"

"Don't act like a baby!" I cooed back, causing him to finally cooperate. It was hard enough to tend to wounds in the dark, but he refused to leave the shack. As we sat in silence, I looked at his hands, which had just as many cuts. I'm sure he had more under his long sleeve shirt. "So, are you going to tell me what you're doing here?"

I was a little on edge with him still, but I knew that he wasn't really a bad guy. He had saved both my father and I before, and I was determined to help him. "And where is Tommy?"

His shoulders tensed and I raised an eyebrow before returning to silence. He hissed as I dabbed the alcohol-filled cotton ball on his eye. He dug his nails into the sandy ground.

"…they're after you still, you know."

I paused before continuing again. My heart was racing—I had purposefully forgotten about Caldoff, and his two sons. I had forgotten about how they were after me, trying to use me and my father like biology frogs. But I kept cool on the outside.

"I know."

"The Justice League can't do anything to stop him. He may seem like a loser in a white lab coat, but he's got connections. Cadmus has connections."

"You're underestimating the league." I said with a chuckle. Victor swatted my hand away and sent a glare.

"This isn't a fucking joke!"

I blinked before glaring back, "You think _I _think this is a joke?"

"You're helping a guy who shot you in the arm and tried to kill you!"

"I'm aware of that, but I'm also aware that that guy's been messed up by his own father!"

He stopped arguing and looked at me with surprise. He held his unharmed eye in his hand and began to shake. I awkwardly stared down at him before offering my hand to his shoulder. He took hold of it and leaned his head on my shoulder.

"Help us…help Tommy and me…"

I folded my arms around him like my father did to me, and I nodded, "I promise, we'll help you."

He pulled out immediately. "We?"

"Y-yeah," I said with a small smile as I tried to keep a grip on his hands, "The league, and everybody—"

"They're just going to lock me up again." He hissed lightly, pulling his hands away from mine finally, "You have to help us on your own."

"I can't do that, Victor." I said cautiously, leaning back so that I could jump up. As much as I wanted to help Victor, he was emotionally unstable. And I could see he was cracking. "I can't battle this alone. We need everybody—"

"No!" He took hold of my shoulders and dove onto me, but I kicked him in the stomach. He rolled off of me with a grunt and I scrambled to my feet. He grabbed my ankle and pulled me back down into the sand, but I threw the bottle of alcohol into his face. He yelled in pain but I didn't stop to look. I leapt out of the shack and out into the air, spreading my wings and flying away. I could hear him screaming my name, going back and forth between pleading and irate.

Finally, I looked back to see he was lying on the ground. I flew down to a cliff and pulled out communicator and placed it in my ear. I called for Kaldur, who answered promptly. "Kaldur…I need your help."

* * *

"This is not a good idea, Angie."

I sighed, taping the final padding to Victor's hand as I looked over to Kaldur, "I know…but I couldn't just leave him there. He came to me for help…if I didn't do anything, he'd lose all hope in me."

"He could very well be a trap to lead Caldoff to you again." I closed my eyes, shoving the irritation down. Kaldur meant well, but he was thinking with an overprotective mind frame right now.

"Well the top priority is his well-being right now, so can we stop talking about Caldoff for a little?" I asked, standing up and crossing my arms. I looked back down to Victor, who was now asleep on my bed. My father stood at the doorway, his arms crossed.

"I'm with your little boyfriend on this one, Agathangelos." He pressed, "This is clearly a trap."

"You didn't see how he was when he first saw me," I snapped, "Besides, he saved us. This is the least you owe him!"

"That's the only reason why I'm letting him in here." My father said with a grunt before walking away. Kaldur sat down, and tugged at my hand. I sighed, sitting down again as well.

"We mean to only protect you."

"I…I know that, Kaldur." I said, squeezing his hand, "But right now I'm doing what's right, and you guys are only looking at it from one perspective. I just think we should try helping him instead of trying to get rid of him."

He nodded, closing his eyes with a sigh. "I accept your way of thinking, and will do what I can to assist you." I smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek, but he pulled me into a hug.

"But if he harms you in anyway…I will not stand for it."

I pulled back, alarmed by his protective tone. "Kaldur…t-thanks." What was I supposed to say to that? I had never heard him so angry. Was he jealous?

I turned to Victor again, who was beginning to stir. He looked up at me, and then at Kaldur, and sat up quickly. "I said you can't involve them!"

"It's okay!" I pressed his chest to calm him down, "I didn't tell anyone else. It's just us."

He calmed down thankfully, although he sent Kaldur an untrusting glare (which Kaldur surprisingly returned). I suggested Kaldur leave the room for a little, and after a look, he unwillingly agreed.

Victor and I sat in an awkward silence as he looked at his wounds. He looked at me, sighing, and then looked at his legs. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

Yeah. "No, not crazy, just…lost."

"Same thing." He laid down, but faced me, "But thanks for helping me anyway. I heard what those two said. They think I'm still with Cadmus…despite what they did to me."

I leaned forward, "Victor, why did they attack you so violently?"

He looked up to the ceiling now, and didn't say anything for a long while. But finally, when he was ready, he told me everything.


	24. Chapter 24

What I was doing wasn't a good idea, but I had to do it.

It didn't help that the team had crumbled since Mr. Jerk Face, also known as Red Arrow, joined the team. Artemis and Wally weren't talking, RA suspected everyone was a mole, and Kaldur was stuck between all of it. He had to deal with them, a failed mission, new missions…and soon, he'd have to deal with me, too.

"Come on, Victor. Let's go."

It'd been a month since we'd taken in Victor. The Justice League still didn't know about his whereabouts, and so long as I played my cards right, they never would.

Slowly over the month, we'd gathered information about Cadmus and his father, and it was time to strike while the iron was hot.

The problem? Kaldur didn't want me to have anything to do with Victor and saving his brother, and neither did my father. The two actually bonded over their overprotection of me; it was really annoying to be honest. But I was determined. As Victor explained the situation to me in detail, I found out that Victor and Tommy had been beaten when they declared their withdrawal from Cadmus, and only Victor had made it out. His brother was still in James' hands.

It was no surprise that Victor was constantly fighting insanity—especially when his father had killed the one person that accepted him for him. And Tommy apparently was in constant need to be with his brother; when separated he tended to go insane himself. They were lost, and I was going to help them—and there was nothing Kaldur or my father could do about it. And so here I was, helping Victor get back to his brother to conduct a secret plan we'd made.

All of this seems good though, right? Kaldur would surely understand, right? Wrong. There were other reasons for as to why I couldn't tell Kaldur about this plan…

He wasn't a fan of getting normal citizens involved…but I needed help. I needed friends.

"Are you sure about this?" Ligeia asked in a mutter as she held Victor from under his arms in front of my third story window. I nodded, my lips forming a thin line.

"I have to, Ligeia. He needs me—they both need me."

She sighed lightly before nodding. The car below us revved its engine and I looked down to the driver. "Hold your horses, Chad!" I screamed through a whisper. He looked up at me, his cheeks puffed.

"I'm not happy with this and you know it! The only reason I agreed in the first place is because you finally went to dinner with me!"

I rolled my eyes as Victor and Ligeia situated themselves in the back of the car. My phone began to ring and I answered it as I turned around and headed down the stairs. "Hello?"

"Is everyone ready?" I smiled a little, just happy to hear her voice again.

"Yeah, Jamie, we're ready. Heading out now." I rounded the corner to see my father standing in front of the door. I froze, my heart beating out of my chest. "H-hey daddy, what's up?"

"Where are you going?" He asked, his face turning into a deep frown. I grinned, looking around for an exit. The door was my only way out.

"Uh…the cave. A mission just came up. I gotta hurry!" I attempted to go around him, but he pulled me into a hug. For a long while, both of us said nothing. But he let me go after brushing my bangs to the side.

"Well. On this mission you better not do anything stupid." I nodded with a small smile, "If you get hurt, it's going to be Kaldur that pays for it. You remember that."

I nodded with a crooked grin before hugging him again and dashing out the door.

I couldn't say anything in response to his understanding. I knew how lonely he was with me being a superhero and all. He was at home all day, afraid that he'd have to leave and abandon me again. He wanted the lights to be on whenever I got home, and I was truly grateful for that. But how did I repay him? I lied to his face, and skipped out of town with an insane teenager, a siren and a cocky jock.

Hopping into the car along with the others and ignoring the sinking feeling in my chest, Chad hit the gas and we made our way to Jamie's house. It was time to begin.

* * *

"_Angie, where are you?"_

"Uh," I looked at Chad with panicking eyes, "I'm just hanging out with Chad."

"_I thought that you were going to come to the cave tonight," _Kaldur pressed, obviously unconvinced, _"I would be grateful if you could come help the team and me—"_

"What?" I lied, "Kaldur, I can't hear you—"

I wasn't completely lying…it was hard to hear through a squashed communicator. I picked it up from under my shoe with a small sigh.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Chad asked after a moment, "You don't usually lie to him."

"It had to be done," I explained, "Kaldur will understand. The mission is always top priority."

We stopped after about an hour of driving, and made our way into Jamie's house. She greeted me with a warm embrace and a couple of tears before we fell back into discussion of the plan.

You see, for this to work we needed everyone. Chad was our transportation. He would never be suspected as a hero-helper since he was completely clean in the system, while Jamie was our networker. She could find Tommy and James in no time, and keep our communication lines private and out of the enemy's hands.

Ligeia was my backup, and she'd help me get the two guys out of there quickly. Victor was the bait (although I did give him my hammer as a weapon to defend himself if needed).

The plan was simple: save Tommy and put James in jail. And it was going to happen tonight. I took a deep breath; there was no turning back now.

* * *

"_He's in."_

My heart was pounding. If I was like this, I couldn't imagine how Victor felt. He was inside a Cadmus building with his father and badly beaten brother.

I nodded from on top of a building across the way from the Cadmus institute. Ligeia shivered as she lowered the binoculars and handed them to me. "That man is horrible."

Victor and James talked, resulting in Victor being struck down with electric weapons on multiple occasions. But each time he fell, he lightly signaled me to stay back.

He was used to the special treatment, and because of that he stood up with a bleeding gash in his head.

"How does Victor find the heart to still call that thing his father?" Ligeia muttered, shaking her head. I stared at the two figures, my knuckles white as I squeezed my hands tightly.

"He probably doesn't have much of a heart to use."

Soon enough, James left the two boys in the room alone. I called Jamie, who was a few blocks away in Chad's car. "Are we ready?"

"_I blocked the sensors and cameras in the room—go!"_

Victor opened the window and I sped inside. I looked at Tommy, who was purple and blue all over, with streaks of red from blood caressing his body. I went over to him first as Ligeia flew in as well. "He's in no condition to move, and I can't carry that much dead weight. I could carry him for a little, but I don't have enough strength, and neither does my hair." I muttered, turning to Victor and Ligeia.

"I'm afraid I'm of not much use as well," Ligeia admitted, her voice soft.

Victor approached us, his hand wiping up the blood that trailed along his eyelid. "I'll carry him out."

Both of us sirens shook our heads, "You're bleeding too much—you can't!"

"And besides, we have to fly you two out." I said in agreement with Ligeia, "This is the third floor…"

"We don't have time for pity parties." He grunted as he pushed past me and picked his brother's almost lifeless body over his shoulder, "You two will help me get to the first floor. Have Chad meet us down there."

"But Victor, we can't—"

The door slammed open and we looked up to see James. I had always had an inner dread that there was a chance Victor was actually leading me into a trap—James' face reassured me that the teen had honestly just wanted my help.

"You little _ass_!" James screamed at his son, "Not only did you betray me, but you joined up with the very girl I'm after?"

"Why so surprised, dad?" Victor asked with a huff and a grin, "I'm your son after all; you taught me the best."

"Kill them all! And throw their bodies into a fire!" James screamed as Cadmus soldiers filed into the room. They surrounded us as Ligeia and I covered Victor and Tommy with our wings.

"I'm sorry I brought you into this, Ligeia," I muttered as I looked around. She giggled lightly and I looked over to her. She smiled back.

"It is alright. Although I am quiet…" She raised her hands and flexed them out, "I am by no means a push over. By our ancestors' powers, let us get out of here."

She began to sing suddenly, and I looked around as the men in the group began to drop their weapons. She had only recently begun to train in the art of controlling people, so she often could only control men.

The women droids looked around in confusion as the men began to beat each other, and then charged for us. I grinned myself before I jumped in to fight the mess of droids. As I battled on, I tried to keep Victor and Tommy safe. Victor was doing alright himself, using the hammer I had given him to keep the soldiers at bay, but he could only handle so many at a time, and he was tiring quickly from his wounds. I decided enough was enough, and I charged for James.

Unarmed, he ran from me with a scream. I turned quickly and called Victor and Ligeia. "Go, now!"

The two didn't hesitate, and they charged the rest of the soldiers in the way. I opened the door and they fled. I turned back to the soldiers in time to avoid a shot. I looked at the incoming amount of guns, and grinned nervously. "…see ya!"

I dove out of the room and flew down the stairs, lasers streaming around me. A couple of them unfortunately hit their target, sending pain through my body. But I continued on, and soon I found Victor and Ligeia, who were stopped by another line of Cadmus lackeys. I flew above them and crashed into the group. Screaming for them to go ahead, they jumped over me and ran forward as I tried to get my feathers from out of the enemy's grip. After painful tears of my wings, I managed to get back into the air. James and the others were coming down the stairs quickly, almost caught up with me. They began to shoot again, this time hitting me harder and closer. I stumbled to the ground and turned to face them with a huff.

I wasn't going to lose. I couldn't. If anything happened to me, Dad had said he'd blame Kaldur. And I couldn't have that.

"Angie!" Ligeia called from the bottom of the last stair case. I turned to her slightly with a smile. I could hear Chad pulling up.

"Go ahead; I'll follow you in a little." She looked at me with an unsure expression, but Victor pulled her forward.

"Let's go." She nodded after a moment and flew forward. He looked at me as he was half way out of the door, "Angie…thank you."

My smile widened as I felt my body shaking. "You're welcome. Now…go."

He nodded and turned, getting in the car. Chad drove off quickly and I turned back to the approaching crowd. James pushed to the front, his face still twisted in anger. "I don't need them if I can have you."

"You won't have any of us, James," I said as I spread my wings, "Not today."

He laughed, his insanity shining. "Then there will always be tomorrow."

I glared at him as he pasted his fake smile on again, "You know I never lost track of you, right? Your precious League thought they had outsmarted me, but I knew the whole time."

"H-how…"

"It's that skill that interested the League of Darkness in the first place," He said with a darker smile. I jumped in alarm.

"What? James, they'll kill you. You're not in their league—"

"You're right." He said with a chuckle, confusing me, "But if I get your powers, I will be. Right now they just want my resources…but with your powers…I can become important to their plans."

"How did you even get involved with them?" I asked as he slowly began to edge towards me.

"The only thing that you should worry about now is your life." His eyes widened and he pointed to me, "I don't need her alive-kill her!"

* * *

"Angie!"

Chad pulled me up as I collapsed at Jamie's front door. I tried to lift myself up, but my legs were useless.

Jamie came up and demanded that Chad bring me to the couch. It was a good thing her parents weren't here for this whole ordeal. "What happened?"

Victor and Ligeia came in from upstairs and rushed towards us when they saw me. "We should have never left you behind." Ligeia screamed, covering her mouth as tears began to flow down her cheeks. She turned, leaning onto Victor's chest as he stood still, unsure on what to do now that emotions were involved.

"You guys, it's okay…" I said with a weak grin, "I'm just tired."

"Bull shit!" Chad screamed, "You're bleeding everywhere!"

"That's what happens when you get hit with lasers…" I said with a chuckle before coughing. Jamie brought a bowl of hot water and a towel, and began to dab the cuts on my face.

"What happened?" She asked lightly. My lips quivered as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"I…I think I killed them."


	25. Chapter 25

"Let me be clear—you're suspended." Batman's eyes were narrowed from the very beginning. Ligeia, Jamie, Chad and Victor stood behind me.

"Hey, that's not fair! She was just helping people, like she's supposed to!" Chad argued before I could stop him.

"She is _supposed _to be working with her team, and only through covert missions—nearly killing people by turning them to stone is hardly her job." Batman rebutted, "And she certainly isn't supposed to bring civilians into the matter."

Good news: I hadn't killed James and his lackeys. It turns out my powers were getting stronger, so the stone effect lasted longer. When I brought the Justice League to them, they were simply lying on the ground, knocked out. Bad news: that didn't stop Batman from being silently furious at me.

Chad made a motion to continue his argument, but I stopped him as I lowered my eyes with a nod towards the Bat, "I understand. I take full responsibility." I looked up at him as he turned, walking away.

"What will happen to my brother?" Victor asked, stepping up. Batman turned slightly to look at the messy boy.

"Both you and your brother will be taken care of, and then sent to a facility." When Victor realized that was the end of the story, he made an aggressive motion towards him.

"You've got to be kidding me!" He screamed as we began to hold him back, "All that we've been through, and you're throwing us away like orphans?!"

"Victor, calm down!" I grunted, holding him with my still weak arms, "Yelling won't get you anywhere!"

"But he's going to leave us somewhere!" His voice cracked and I stopped holding him as I looked up. He choked on tears, "We've been through so much, and he's just going to put us in a mad house!"

He looked down at me, his eyebrows lowered in fear. "Angie, do something!" I stared at him, eyes wide with surprise before I lowered them to the ground.

What could I do for him? Batman always had the final word…but maybe I could do something—try something. "I want to take the brothers in." Batman, who had turned all the way towards us again, squinted at me.

"Take them in." I loved how he never asked questions. It was always factual, not to mention intimidating. I nodded lightly.

"Let them live with my father and I, for guidance. They trust me, and my father is a good man. We can help them."

"No." Victor once again charged towards Batman, who simply apprehended him with one arm. Victor squirmed on the ground and nearly foamed at the mouth. I covered my mouth as Batman looked at me. "He's too violent for your father and you to handle. There's no way. He's going to the facility and that's final—"

"W-wait, please..."

Victor stopped squirming, and I turned around in surprise. Ligeia wiggled in embarrassment and turned red. "I-I mean no harm, Batman, but I believe I have an suggestion. Would you listen to it?"

-…-…-

"You could have been killed!" I looked to the side, my eyebrows burrowed. Why was everyone so upset at me, when in the end I had done so well? I had even found a place for the brothers on Scope Island! There, they'd be able to be as angry as they wanted, and they'd be surrounded by people who didn't mind (and Ligeia would be there to help, too).

"It was for the mission. You more than anyone should understand that, Kaldur." The Atlantian shook his head as he paced in front of me in my room at the Cave. One hand was on his hip, the other was on his forehead. He turned, flicking his hand from his forehead and towards me.

"What about our promise?"

"I had no choice!" I argued, "What was I supposed to do—sit there and do _nothing_?"

"You most certainly weren't supposed to lie to me."

I reeled back, "Says the guy who hid the fact he knew there was a mole on the team and didn't tell anybody else."

We stared at each other for a long time, my heart racing every second. I was hurt by his lack of understanding; he did the same thing to me so many times by simply not saying anything, and he knew it. So why was it so hard for him to forgive one lie I did for the greater good?

"Because of your actions, you have been suspended." He said, changing the subject with a sigh, "You are required to stay in the cave at all times, so that the League may keep an eye on you. No visitors, no cell phones."

I nodded in silence as he made a motion to leave. He stopped at the door, and turned back to look at me, but I pretended not to notice. He only sighed again before leaving with a last comment, "We will have a new addition to the team in a week—hopefully that will be enough time for you to regain a little more sense and consideration for your team."

"Get out, Kaldur." I mumbled, standing up and walking to my bathroom, "I'm going to take a shower."

-…-…-

Everyone became silent as I walked into the kitchen. I made no motion to start any conversations with them seeing that they were obviously nervous to be around their suspended teammate.

Well, all of them besides Wally.

"What's up lady?" He asked, zooming beside me and leaning on the open refrigerator door. I stood up from the other side and gave him a weak smile.

"Hey Wally. Nothing much. Just…wandering around the cave, I guess." I looked to everyone else, who were staring at me still. They gave me small smiles, nervous smiles, and I found myself frustrated. Why was it that when Kaldur did something stupid, he was deemed a hero, but when I did it, I was in the wrong? What was the difference?

"I heard about what happened—we all did." Wally admitted, continuing the conversation, "I think you did a wicked good thing, even if it cost you some field time."

I smiled lightly and my shoulders shrugged down lightly. Finally, positive reinforcement. "Thank you...I really needed to hear that." I pulled him into a hug from over the refrigerator door before looking towards the rest of the team. They shared a relieved smile with me and I walked over, beginning conversation with them when Kaldur walked in.

"It is time to go support our friends. Come, today is the initiation of the new Justice League members."

M'gann shuffled, "Can we _all _come?"

I turned around, patting her on the shoulder as I passed. "It's okay, I'll watch it on the TV."

"Perhaps…it would be better if you came?" I turned slowly to look at Kaldur, who offered a peace-treaty smile, "We are meeting our new teammate, after all."

I stared at him, wondering if it would be better for me to bite my tongue or not. I couldn't help myself though—I was still angry at him. "I thought I was on lock down."

"We can always make exceptions—we always do!" Robin grinned as he pulled his holographic computer into view. I shook my head lightly before turning again.

"I think I'll just stay here. I don't want anyone to be angrier than they already are." Cough Kaldur cough.

"Angie…you don't have to be like this." M'gann insisted. Artemis nodded, crossing her arms.

"We're a team—it would be better for us all to go."

"But I'm suspended." I insisted, waving my hand as I backed into the corridor, "It's okay—really. I'll meet you guys here with the newbie as soon as you come in, okay?"

The girls nodded, and everyone headed off towards the ship. Through the small crowd, I found Kaldur standing in the same spot. I stared back at him before I grabbed my arm, the nervous habit returning. "You'd better get going." I turned and walked back to my room.

-…-…-…-

"If attitude had anything to do with the Justice League…you wouldn't stand a chance." I grumbled as Red Arrow was officially accepted into the League and shoved a scoop of popcorn into my mouth. Chewing with my mouth open, I did it to spite everything. "While he screws everyone on the team, he gets admitted into the big leagues. And I get suspended for bringing in a bad guy."

I threw a piece of popcorn onto the ginger's reflected face and spit in his general direction when a beep sounded from the mission room. I blinked, looking over from the couch before deciding to check it out. I walked in to find there was a hologram hovering in the center of the room—it was an alert. I pressed it to read more detail, and saw that it was about Cheshire. She had boarded a plane, and the system had caught her.

I grinned. No one was here to take the mission. And I most certainly couldn't let this information go to waste.

What a shame—I wish my communicator wasn't broken.

-…-…-

Once again, I asked Ligeia for her help. After a little convincing, she set up a portal for me to get near the plane. It was high in the Artic area—I couldn't fly all the way over there on my own.

"Thanks, Ligeia!" I said with a smile, embracing her quickly. Victor rounded the corner as I let go of her and he quickly walked up.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned. I grinned up at him—he was like a different person now that he was free of his father's grasp. He kind of reminded me of a certain Kryptonian I knew.

"Mission." I replied with a wider grin that made Ligeia worry.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You are suspended, are you not?" She pressed as I pulled my white hood over my ears. I nodded.

"If I capture Cheshire, I may not be suspended anymore!" With that I gave them a relaxed salute before jumping through the portal.

-…-…-

I regretted everything.

The plane Cheshire had been on had crashed. And if that wasn't bad enough, the rest of the team had come, too. I was hiding in the ridges of the rocky wall, praying that they wouldn't find me as they searched for any survivors.

And then it got worse. Cheshire revealed herself on a higher cliff, along with the Riddler, Mammoth and Shimmer, and a bunch of lackeys. The Riddler went on and on with his riddle, and eventually threw up a force field to keep us from leaving. I cursed—I was seriously stuck there now.

It was an ambush.

At first I stayed where I was, finding myself in denial that they didn't need my help, but when Zatanna made a snow storm, I decided to use my hair as a fighting force. I took out as many of the lackeys as I could. But then I saw the Riddler and Shimmer standing up on that cliff, unguarded. I pulled out my wings and flew up silently, hoping that no one would see me if I went quickly.

But someone did see me. Someone slammed into my chest and threw me down into the snow. I grunted, looking up in alarm. She must have been the new girl.

"What are you doing?" I screamed, "Get off of me, I'm on your side!"

"You must be a n00b at this, Mrs. Bad Guy, cause you're having a hard time foolin me!" She screamed back as we struggled. I growled, throwing her off and taking flight again. I didn't have time for this!

I looked down to see she was on my tail again. I turned to her and waved my arms. "Didn't they tell you I was the other teammate? I'm Medusa!"

But she knocked me out of the sky with a ball of power, and sent me down to the ground. I moaned when a shadow cast over me.

"It's about time you came out." Cheshire purred, "We needed you here, too! Can't leave Medusa out of all the fun!"

My eyes widened as I realized what was happening. Cheshire had lured me here, and I was dumb enough to take the bait. And now I was fighting against my own teammate instead of fighting the bad guys. I was _helping_ them.

I should have just stayed at the cave.

The girl flew off to fight more people, and I took the chance to fly back up toward the Riddler and Shimmer. Miss Martian must have sensed me, because she added me to the mental link.

"_Medusa? What are you doing here?"_

"_Not the time to ask questions! Can you explain to your new friend here that I'm on your side? She tried taking me out."_

There was a pause.

_"Whoops."_

_"While you're getting the n00b ready, I'll be taking out the Riddler and Shimmer."_

I wrapped my hair around them and slammed the criminals into the wall. It was nice to get some of this pent up anger out—I liked it! I made a mental note to go robber-hunting later.

The Riddler continued to complain about his capture, and Zatanna helped shut him up by binding his mouth shut. I turned to her with a smile, but growled when the new girl floated down beside her.

"Hey, _n00b._" I called, crossing my arms and sending her a glare. She lowered her eyebrows.

"I'm so sorry—I should have listened to you. I guess I got caught up in the moment!"

"It is not completely your fault, Rocket." I turned in surprise to see Kaldur approaching me. "What are you doing here?"

"I got the alert in the cave, and figured it'd be an open-and-close case…so I came." I explained, shrugging my shoulders lightly, "How did you guys find out about this?"

"Wonderboy." Zatanna explained simply before they looked back to me in silence. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"I get it. I'm in trouble."

We made our way back to the ship, but Kaldur pulled me back. "We need to talk."

I crossed my arms and looked towards the ground. "Not right now. We're both angry—"

"I am not angry at you, Angie." He insisted, his hand resting on my shoulder, "I am worried that with your behavior, you will be taken off the team."

"There's no need to be that paranoid." I insisted, walking onto the ship, "I'll be fine. And besides, even if I was taken off the team...you'd have a new girl to take my place anyway."

"Angie!"

But I ignored him and got on the ship.

-…-…-…-

"So let me get this straight. You hacked League alerts, took the mission, and brought back three fugitive criminals." We stood in front of Batman, who glared at us as usual, "Good job."

Everyone grinned except me. I was waiting for the last comment I knew he'd make. "Medusa." I looked up at him and shuffled lightly.

"Yes, sir."

"Your suspension has been lifted." I blinked and stared at him with wide eyes as he continued, "Kaldur insisted that the team needs you when on missions. Seeing that you took down Shimmer and the Riddler, I'll grant you this one chance to prove it."

He paused, looking over to Kaldur who was smiling lightly in my direction, "I suppose a team is a team. You're off the hook for now, but one more slip up and it won't matter how much your boyfriend likes you."

I turned red and smiled at the ground with a nod. Rocket screamed her question that we were dating; when I nodded she moaned. "Aw man! Another one bites the dust!"

I raised a confused eyebrow as she and the Leaguers walked away and she went to say goodbye to Ion, her partner, but turned my attention to my boyfriend. He smiled lightly.

"And you were worried." I said with a grin as I embraced him around his waist. I pulled back so that I could see his eyes, "Thank you for sticking up for me. I know you're not happy with what I did, but—"

"No," He shook his head, "I was wrong to have been angry. It is hard to see you do dangerous things on your own, but you are a hero no less than I. We both must do what we have to, for the mission. Besides, I do not wish my girlfriend to be so out of sight. I have missed you."

I smiled and nuzzled my head onto his chest before we turned to the team, ready to get back to business.

"You realize we were set up, right?" Robin asked Kaldur as Rocket joined the group again.

"Yes, Cheshire and the Riddler were tipped; they were ready for us."

Artemis groaned, "Not the mole thing again!"

"Mole thing?" Rocket questioned, "Again?"

Kid Flash explained, "We had Intel that there was a traitor on the team—"

"Namely M'gann, Artemis or me." Superboy interjected with a little more sass than usual.

Kaldur rested his hand on our friend's shoulder, "It is more complicated than that." Conner shrugged him off, but Kaldur pressed.

"But your recent behavior does concern me. Your attack on Mammoth nearly got Artemis killed." We stared at his back, waiting for an answer, and after a moment, he turned to us.

"There's something I need to do." He paused. "Something I need to tell you."

We stayed in silence as he began. "Last month, on Thanksgiving, I went back to Cadmus. Found a few things out. When I was cloned, I was made with only half of Superman's DNA. The other half was human. That's why I don't—will never have…full Kryptonian powers."

"You sure?" Robin asked with a friendly smile, "Because you sure seemed to have them today."

"I've been using these." He lifted up his sleeve to reveal a black patch on his skin, "Shields. They repress my human DNA. I get the flying, the heat vision—but I also think I get angry…well, angrier."

Kaldur looked at him in concern, "Where did you get those?"

"From my human father," He looked up at us, "Lex Luther."

Wait, wait, wait. As in Lex Luther, the guy who owned a bazillion companies, liked to wreck havoc everywhere, and keep a good look in society all at the same time? Like, that dude? Wow. Supey explained how he had met him, and that he was being summoned to Saint Prisca now to get more.

We stood in silence for a while, shocked, when Artemis groaned from behind me. I blinked as she walked in front of us. "Listen, Superboy's not the only one suffering from bad DNA."

She pulled up the Sportsmaster, Cheshire and a woman called Huntress. "My mother is Huntress, an ex-con. The rest of my family isn't even ex…my dad's Sportsmaster, and my sister Cheshire is being sent to fly me to Santa Prisca too."

"That's why…" KF said quietly, beginning to understand her views.

"I was so desperate to make sure none of you found out…" She said as she raised her head, obviously uncomfortable.

"I knew." We all looked at Robin, who grinned at the surprised Artemis, "I mean, I'm a detective. But it never mattered. You're family, you're one of us."

Wally walked over to the blonde and patted her shoulder before leaning on her. "So, who's next?"

All of the secrets seemed to be coming out today! "I am." M'gann answered.

"I swear I was joking." Wally said, throwing his arms up.

I turned to her, my eyebrows lowered. "M'gann?" She looked at me before stepping away from everyone.

"Queen Bee's been…blackmailing me. She wants me at Santa Prisca too."

"Blackmailing?" Kaldur questioned, "How?"

"She knows my _true _Martian form."

"Bald M'gann?" Robin asked. I blinked.

"I didn't even know there was a bald M'gann!" I said in confusion.

"No." M'gann said, her eyebrows lowered. And then she transformed into her true form. A large, white Martian with many tendons and muscles. I found myself frozen, eyes wide, as everyone backed away except for Conner and Kaldur.

"I knew you would never accept me for who I really was." She explained through an unopened mouth.

"Did we really seem so shallow?" Kaldur questioned.

She crossed her arms, "I couldn't take the chance." I looked at her with lowered eyebrows as I saw the girl I'd grown to love in this form. She was self-conscious about herself.

"I endured constant rejection from being a White Martian among Green Martians on Mars…I couldn't face that from—"

"From me?" Conner walked up to her, taking her hand. They had some conversation, M'gann often looking surprised. Soon she returned to her green human form, a smile on her face. We all turned to our leader.

"So…what now?" I questioned. He looked down at me, and then scanned the faces in the room.

"Now, we trick those who have been tricking us."


End file.
